A Star's Fall on the Empire
by LanceSennin
Summary: Tatsumi is a stiff and hardcore fighter from his village. After he saw the evil truth behind the Empire, he ends up joining Night Raid as an assassin. Along with a strange but powerful teigu that he encounters along the way, can he put a stop to the corruption in the Capital before the people he cares about the most get hurt? What happens from there? Strong/Badass Tatsumi!
1. Kill the Beginning

_**I said I'll be back in the Akame ga Kill fandom and back I am indeed. This time, we have Tatsumi with his harem! First things first, Tatsumi is stronger here than his canon counterpart, mainly due to his teigu and his fighting style. If you want to know what they are, read the damn fic and make sure to follow the storyline, okay? Second, I'm gonna be changing a few things from what happened in canon here because why the hell not? This is fanfiction, so I'm free to do what I want. Third, the harem list is shown at the end of this chapter with some of your favorite girls and with that being said, let us get on with the fic.**_

"Normal Talking"

 _"Thoughts"_

 **Flashbacks**

 **(Time and Place indicators)**

 ** _Teigu_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga Kill or any of its characters..._**

* * *

 **(Year 1046; A few kilometers away from the capital)**

"I hate sleeping outside." Tatsumi groaned, as he wrapped himself in his winter coat. The young brown-haired man had been traveling for days to reach the nation's capital. He had left his home village in the countryside with two of his friends so that they could work in the capital together and send money back to their home village. But along the way, a bunch of bandits had separated the three of them and now Tatsumi was all alone, and he had no idea where his friends were or if they were safe. "If I'm lucky I'll reach the capital tomorrow afternoon. Maybe then, I'll finally be able to sleep in a real bed, instead of leaning against a tree." Tatsumi shifted around so that he could get comfortable against the hard ground. Once he found a suitable position, Tatsumi's eyelids began to droop as sleep overtook him. "Sayo, Ieyasu I hope you're both alright. But until then…" he reached inside his cloak and pulled out a strange-looking katana out and unsheathed it.

The handle was of the color white, with a black cord wrap all around it; there were two yellow diamond-shaped pins holding the wrapping altogether and the pommel was also coloured yellow. Instead of a normal oval-shaped guard, it was replaced by two big yellow star-shaped ones that were connected to the handle and had the main blade between the gap. The long blade was distinctively painted black, with its edges being the color yellow as well that ended with the sharp, one-sided tip.

"I wonder what else this thing can do… it's only been a week since I found this but ever since I used it against those bandits, I can't help but think if I could fly like that again…" he muttered, thinking about just what happened a few days before.

 **(Flashback)**

Tatsumi was running away from the bandits that were pursuing him and wanted to claim his money for themselves; if it was only against one guy, he'd have no problem dealing with him since he was also a skilled fighter known in his village.

But against… how many was it?

Oh, yeah.

He was up against five bandits who were insanely chasing after him and it looked like they had no intention of stopping. He was confident in his abilities, but trying to fight without even scanning his opponents of their strengths and weaknesses would be considered suicide. Sooner or later, the young man would be feeling tired and would eventually stop but then the bandits would catch up to him then and who knows what they'll do to him after they got the money?

That's why the moment he saw a small cave nearby, he immediately went inside and tried to catch his breath while also looking out for those men that were trying to go after him. Knowing that he has a few minutes to rest, he leaned against the wall and tried to reach for his broadsword behind him to try and fight back against those men but then he felt that his weapon wasn't there.

" _Damn it, I must have left it back at our campsite!"_ he thought to himself, feeling idiotic for forgetting such an important thing. " _How am I supposed to defend myself now?!"_ he asked in his mind, looking in all possible directions frantically, showing desperation in his actions.

That was when he saw it.

" _What's that shiny thing?"_

He walked closer to the part of the cave that was blocked by rocks and knelt down to see a yellowish-looking object sticking out of the ground. He tried to touch it to feel what it is and once he felt that it was as hard as steel, he came to a suspicion.

" _It's yellow and hard… this must be gold! Yes, this is what my village needs!"_ he thought triumphantly and turned his head around to see if the bandits were still there. " _Hmm, it doesn't look like they know where I am yet… I should take this opportunity and take this out!"_ he tried to pull the "gold" out from underneath the ground, but it looked like it was stuck.

" _What the —?"_ he thought upon noticing that it he couldn't pull it out. " _Come on! Pull!"_ he said, trying with both hands to try and yank it out of the ground, but still, he couldn't do it. " _How big is this gold anyway? It feels like I'm lifting a ton over here!"_ he tried pulling with every bit of his strength, but it still wasn't enough.

"There he is! He's in this cave!"

"Get him!"

It seemed to be too late for poor Tatsumi.

" _Shit! They caught up with me! I have no choice but to fight back!"_ he cursed in his thoughts and turned around to be prepared for what was going to happen, only to realize that he had something in his right hand.

His eyes widened when he saw it.

Although he was confused for a few seconds, he turned back to look at where the "gold" was, but all he saw was a hole in the ground where the gold could have possibly been earlier.

It then hit him.

" _So, it wasn't gold at all…"_ he thought as he looked at the weird-looking katana in his hand. The pommel was coloured yellow, which must be the reason why he assumed it was gold. " _Hang on, why would a sword be in this kind of place?"_ he tried to think of a good reason why, just as the first bandit went inside the place, putting the young man in a dilemma.

"You're not going anywhere, little boy! Hand over your money and we won't have to hurt you!" the first bandit said.

" _Okay, this is not the good time to ask questions… I'll have to deal with what I can with this thing!"_ he finished in his thoughts as he unsheathed the sword in his grasp, revealing its full appearance. Tatsumi didn't notice it, but both his eyes and the blade of the katana itself glowed yellow at the same time when he removed it from its sheath that it got the bandit that was in front of him to slowly widen his eyes in surprise.

"No more running. Let's finish this here!" Tatsumi screamed in anger, charging for his first enemy, the sword tight in his grasp. "I don't know what you did to my friends, but I'll make you pay for messing with us!"

The bandit grinned evilly, thinking that the boy was out of his mind to simply charge out of hatred and rage and prepared to defend himself with his small knife. However, before he knew it, time appeared to slow down that it seemed like Tatsumi was the only one who was in normal motion.

His eyes widened when the boy was suddenly wrapped in a yellow aura and he didn't have much time to think after that.

 **SLASH!**

Blood spurted out onto the cave floor; the bandit's upper body fell to the ground along with his lower one, bisected in a matter of seconds with one swift slash through his abdominal area. Tatsumi was behind him with an angry look on his face before the brunette realized just what happened a few seconds ago.

" _Hang on, how did I move so fast?"_ he thought, the glare on his face disappearing as he turned around, only to see the bandit's dead body cut into two halves. His eyes slowly widened when he noticed the yellow aura that was covering his entire body; the katana's blade was also glowing yellow, and all the bandits outside of the cave were murmuring amongst themselves and wondered about what the hell was going on.

" _W-What is this? What's happening to me?"_ he asked, looking shocked at his current appearance before he completely understood what happened just by remembering how he attacked just earlier and what happened to the bandit afterwards.

" _So that's how it is… damn, I felt like I was flying… or maybe I really was…"_ he thought with a grin, turning his attention to the remaining bandits outside of the cave, who all flinched in fear at seeing the young man's glare. "You all saw what happened to your friend! Leave now or we'll do this the hard way!" he warned, pointing the glowing katana at them.

"Get him!"

"Forget Johnny, let's kill the kid!"

"This boy's just playing tricks with us! We can take him!"

"Yeah!"

Tatsumi slowly walked forward and held the sword tightly, preparing for another fight. " _Time to fly!"_ he finished in his mind, taking off for battle, which only lasted for a few seconds because of the multiple ZOOMs and SWOOSHes heard all over the area, accompanied by the amount of blood shed by all four remaining bandits that drowned out their screams of pain and anguish.

It was the start of his _real_ journey.

 **(End of Flashback)**

"Hmm, I still don't have an idea why would this thing be buried in a cave… but, I guess that this would keep me safe since we I lost my old sword. Not to mention that I can fly like an evil bird when I use this…" Tatsumi ran his hands through his hair, as he gazed at the forest surrounding him. He was surprised to see that the sun was already starting to rise up in the sky, making him think that he woke up earlier than usual. "Well, I better get going. I should be able to reach the capital later today." He placed the sword back in its sheath and hid it beneath his cloak. " _I'll look into more of this if I can, but I'll need to find out more about what this katana can do."_ Tatsumi thought, as he slung his pack over his shoulder. With a light sigh, Tatsumi began to make his way through the forest.

Once Tatsumi was back on the path leading towards the capital, he pulled a map out of his pack. _"Hmm, looks like I'm only about two miles away from the capital now. If I keep up this pace, I should be able to get there a little past noon."_ However, Tatsumi was shaken from his thoughts when a scream echoed out from the path ahead.

"AH! It's an Earth Dragon!"

"Fuck! I didn't know they came out to main roads like this! What do we do?!"

"Heh, looks like I'll be able to get some danger beast hunting in before I reach the capital." Tatsumi said with a grin, racing towards where the screams had come from. As Tatsumi ran down the path, he finally caught a glimpse of the danger beast. The Earth Dragon was a massive cockroach-like monster with long antennae, large claws, and blood red eyes. Tatsumi then spotted two men running away from the massive danger beast.

"Get the hell out of here!" One of the men yelled, as he ran away from his carriage.

"Looks like this is a good time to use this killer baby." Tatsumi said with a grin, unsheathing his sword. The familiar yellow aura appeared around him as he closed the distance in a matter of seconds before he flew up into the air and slashed his sword across the danger beast's chest, bringing down all his weight in one attack. The monster howled in pain, as blood sprayed from its open wound. Tatsumi landed in front of the beast, the yellow aura disappearing into the air. "A class-one danger beast, an Earth Dragon huh…"

The danger beast let out a mighty roar, causing a smirk to spread across across Tatsumi's face. "Looks like this just became all serious, eh?" Letting out another roar, the Earth Dragon smashed its fist into the ground where Tatsumi had been standing. However Tatsumi had been prepared for this, and flew back up into the air, dodging the monster's attack. Tatsumi landed on the beast's giant arm, and dashed with incredible speed towards its head.

"It's over now!" With several quick but lethal slashes of his sword, Tatsumi had decapitated the colossal danger beast as he jumped back on the ground to recompose himself before he sheathed his sword to keep it safe..

"H-Holy shit… did that kid really just fly?" One of the men breathed out in shock, as he watched the headless danger beast crash into the ground.

"That was amazing kid! Is that sword of yours a teigu? Can you really fly with it? What was the yellow thing covering you earlier?" The other man cheered, as he ran towards Tatsumi for an answer to his questions.

"I can't believe you took out that danger beast all by yourself! How did you pull it off?! You just flew in the sky like you were a bird and ran so fast that I didn't know where you really were!" The first man exclaimed, following behind his friend.

"Hmph, of course…" Tatsumi said with a cocky smile. "Something like that is a piece of cake for me." Tatsumi never noticed the men's deadpanned looks, as he continued to gloat and ignored their earlier questions. "I'm Tatsumi, by the way. Better remember my name, because I'm going to make it famous in the capital soon enough."

"I guess that means you're trying to make a name for yourself in the capital then?" The first man questioned, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yep!" Tatsumi exclaimed with a wide grin. "I'm going to make it big in the capital for my village!" Tatsumi was surprised to see the two men share a skeptical look at his words. "What?"

"The capital… isn't the paradise jewel that you think it is, boy…" The second man answered in a serious tone. "It's lively for sure, but it's full of monsters who are worse than even a hundred Earth Dragons."

"What? I don't get it. Do danger beasts come into the city too?" Tatsumi asked in a confused tone.

"I'm talking about the people, boy." The second man explained, unconsciously clenching his fists. "People with the hearts of monsters… that's all you'll find in the capital. You'll see that you'd rather live in a forest filled with danger beasts than that place." Tatsumi flinched slightly at his words, feeling a bit uncomfortable. "Hey, are you okay kid?"

"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine." Tatsumi replied, as he scratched the back of his head. Neither man noticed the subtle uneasiness in Tatsumi's voice. "Well I appreciate the little warning, but there's no way I can turn back now. I… _we're_ going to make money in the capital to help save our village. Anyway, I better get going." With one last wave, Tatsumi continued on down the path towards the capital.

"That kid doesn't know what he's getting himself into." The first man said with a frown on his face.

"I bet he'll be killed no more than two days once he gets there." The second man said, beginning to walk back towards the carriage.

"I don't know, man. That kid has got some serious skills and his sword might be a teigu. Not to mention, he could fuckin' fly while using it. Who knows? He may be able to make it in the capital." The first man said, sitting down in the carriage. "Now come on. We have to get these supplies to Lubbock at Night Raid's hidden base."

* * *

 **(One hour later; Streets of the Capital)**

Although he had only been in the Capital for an hour, he knew that he needed his money since the bandits from a week ago stole the most of the money he saved up with Sayo and Ieyasu. What's more, he gave the last of his reserves to a man who was trying to escape 'punishment' for his debts. Despite being a bit prideful at times, Tatsumi was known as a very kind person in his village. So, since he was out of cash he went out to find himself a job and he heard of a rich family in need of a bodyguard.

Tatsumi was a skilled fighter, even without a weapon. He was trained within the village with their martial arts masters and the young man suited a stiff form of hand-to-hand combat which mainly involved hard strikes and resounding blows. He was very much underestimated in the village since it was ideal to use any kind of weapons nowadays when fighting instead of using bare fists, but he was talented in his own style.

At least he loves to proclaim and then show it firsthand.

It was currently three in the afternoon and Tatsumi was currently not working. Well, he wasn't truly employed until nine in the evening so he took this opportunity to find his friends and see if they somehow ended up in the Capital already. He was walking towards the barracks within the city, hoping to try once more to see if they had seen his friends. He entered the barracks to ask the man in charge if they had seen his friends, but got thrown out rudely with the man yelling about not having the time to worry about stupid kids. Tatsumi sighed and rubbed the back of his head, only to stop with the involuntary action when he heard a very seductive voice.

"Hellooooo, cutie." Spoke the voice. Tatsumi began to look up and back. "What's with the long face little guy? Don't worry so much, big sis is here to cheer you up!" It was a young woman with short blonde hair with two long tufts that frame the sides of her head and golden eyes. She wore a revealing outfit with a black tube top, detachable sleeves, pants, boots and a scarf around her neck.

Okay, that's it.

She was showing a lot of skin.

" _Damn… nice tits."_ Tatsumi thought to himself with a perverted grin, but he managed to suppress it.

"Eyes up here buddy."

" _She's very pretty too."_

"So, what's the matter?"

"I've lost my two friends from my village and I'm trying to find them in this place, but… I don't know where to start." he explained, shifting his position so that his sword could be fully hidden behind his back and out of his sight.

"Oh! Well, I've got a major in the army who could help. He's in the intelligence division, so he knows everything. He might have seen your friends around here."

"Please, can you get him to help?! I've been searching for them for days and I don't have the slightest idea on where they are!"

"Well, first you have to treat me to lunch!"

"Deal!" Tatsumi said brightly with a big smile on his face.

* * *

After a fifteen minute lunch at the nearest bar, which was mainly a sandwich and several mugs of strong alcohol, Tatsumi had enough and he wanted to find his friends. Now.

"Ok, enough with lunch! Tell me how I can get this man to help me!" he asked, desperation clearly visible in his voice that got the girl to raise her eyebrows slightly, noticing how he was resolved in wanting to find his friends.

"Well… first you are going to need a lot of money." she told him.

"Money?"

"Yup… He could hook you up if you make it worth his while… he's not supposed to be revealing people you see. But, you know what they say! The best thing about a secret is telling someone your secret!" she began to laugh at her own joke, while Tatsumi was considering what she just said.

"Oh! I gotcha. Will this do, then?" Tatsumi said, placing a large sum of money on the table which was in a brown sack.

"Woah, what do we have here?!" she whistled, clearly impressed with how much money the young man had despite being a newcomer in this place.

"This was just the payment up front from my bodyguard job."

"Bodyguard? Hmm, strong man are we?" she crossed her arms and smirked.

"Nah, just some little girl whose parents wanted protection." Tatsumi said, blowing her praise off like it was no big deal, which to him it wasn't.

"Well, this is enough money. He will definitely hook you up tomorrow morning!"

"Awesome! Thank you so much!"

"No problem kid… well, this has been quite educational for the both of us I believe. Alright well, Imma talk to him so you can find your friends as soon as possible." the girl said, leaving Tatsumi behind as she carried off his bag of money and waved goodbye. "You wait here, then!"

Tatsumi nodded and ordered another water and a sandwich, ready to wait for the girl before his job would need him there.

However, his kindness seemed to have given him a headache more than once in his whole lifetime.

* * *

After four whole hours of waiting, Tatsumi suddenly realized something. "Ah shit, I never asked her how he could contact me!" Tatsumi suddenly declared.

"Ah kid, you fool." the bartender said, shaking his head in amusement.

"Eh?"

"Can't you see she just ditched you and ran off with your money?"

"What?!"

"You're kidding me right! I have to find her!" he stood up and prepared himself to find the mysterious girl, only to get stopped by the bartender himself.

"You won't… it's your own damn vault for being so naive."

Tatsumi sighed and cursed under his breath, standing up and leaving the bar, deciding to head off to where the family that hired him lived and start and his job early for a quick pay to recover his lost money.

* * *

 **(10 Minutes Later)**

"W-Wow." Tatsumi knew that the girl probably came from a wealthy family, but the young man was blow away when he stepped into Aria's home; it was more of a mansion than a home. The foyer alone was massive enough to fit a normal sized house inside it to show just how rich they were. Tatsumi was blown away by all the priceless items scattered throughout the house.

"Ah, looks like Aria's new bodyguard has finally arrived." Aria's father said, turning to look at Tatsumi.

"Well, that just makes me like him more. Punctual and quite attractive too." Aria's mother said with a warm smile, causing Tatsumi to blush faintly.

 _"Those older guards must be must be really strong just from looks…"_ Tatsumi thought, as he observed the guards stationed around the large manor. _"They could only be kind to complete strangers like me because they have experienced guards."_ Tatsumi smiled and let out a sigh of relief. _"This at least proves that there are good people in the capital, unlike those rumors I keep hearing all over the place."_

"Thank you so much for taking me in!" Tatsumi exclaimed, bowing to show his appreciation. "I've received the upfront pay that your contact gave and I've kept it away for my home village," he lied, hiding the fact that his money got stolen.

"Oh, you have good sense in managing finances. Please make yourself feel at home." Aria said with a smile as she stepped into the living room.

"Yes ma'am!" Tatsumi said, continuing to bow to his hosts before he remembered something that he needed help with. "I… uh, actually have a favor to ask you."

"Well what is it my boy?" Aria's father asked, gesturing for Tatsumi to take a seat across from him. After Tatsumi explained his situation, Aria's father leaned back in his seat. "I see. You want to work here full-time to help your village… well, we have no problem with a permanent bodyguard and I must admit, I admire your courage and resolve, Tatsumi."

"Oh, well thanks… I guess…"

"No problem, my boy. However, I do have to ask you to watch out for those kinds of people. You never know when thieves would be right there to take your money. It's a good thing that you indeed kept your money hidden from anybody."

"Did you come from village alone, Tatsumi?" Aria asked, causing Tatsumi to gaze at the floor.

"Actually, I left the village with two of my friends, Sayo and Ieyasu." Tatsumi replied, as his hand wandered towards the gift the village chief had given him before the left inside his jacket. The chief had said the idol would grant him God's protection. "We trained for months, and were ready to work in this place. But we were separated on the way here. I haven't seen them in a while."

"Oh my, that's awful." Aria's mother said, as she gasped slightly.

"They're both strong, so I'm not too worried about it." Tatsumi said, his hand tightening around the idol in his shirt pocket. "It's just that Ieyasu is simply awful with directions, so I don't know if he'll be able to find where we all agreed to meet up. I do hope we'll meet again one of these days…"

"I see!" Aria's father said, as he slapped his knee. "I'll have a chat with one of my friends in the military. Then we'll try our best to find your friends."

"Thank you so much!" Tatsumi exclaimed, standing up and bowing once again.

"My hunches are usually pretty spot on." Aria said with a warm smile, causing Tatsumi to turn and look at her. "I'm sure you'll be reunited with your friends very soon."

"Miss Aria…" Tatsumi said with a slight blush dusting across his face.

"Alright…" Aria's father said, as he stood up from his seat and clapping his hands. "Why don't we call it a night."

"Thank you for everything you've done for me today!" Tatsumi exclaimed, earning a smile from Aria's mother.

"We're happy to help. Now go pay it to someone else too." Aria's mother said with an almost creepy smile.

"I sure will!" Tatsumi said, just as one of the guards arrived to escort him towards his room. Once Tatsumi arrived at his bedroom, he quickly climbed into his bed and let his sleep take over. _"I'm so lucky. I got saved by some good people. Next, I need to find Sayo and Ieyasu. I just hope both of them made it to the capital safely."_

* * *

 **(The Next Afternoon; Capital's Shopping District)**

"Hurry! Let's go the next shop!" Aria cheered, pointing out another store just up ahead.

"Please wait Miss Aria!" The guards, who were carrying her numerous purchases, exclaimed as they lagged behind due to the sheer number of things that she wanted to buy. "Tch, it looks like we'll be staying home next time." The guard standing next to Tatsumi said.

"Miss Aria sure bought a lot…" Tatsumi said, as he stared at the mountain of boxes with wide eyes. "The amount is utterly ridiculous."

"It's not just Miss Aria." The guard explained, watching the young blonde girl enter another store. "All young girls are like this."

"Really? The ones I know pick out their clothes right away." Tatsumi said in a confused tone.

"Never mind that, kid. Look up." The guard said, gesturing towards the palace that towered over them. "It's the royal palace."

"It's freaking huge!" Tatsumi exclaimed, finally getting a good look of the imposing building. "That's where the emperor lives?!"

"No…" The guard said, causing Tatsumi to raise an eyebrow in confusion. "Not quite… true, the emperor lives in the palace, however he is but a child. He's being manipulated from the shadows by the minister. He's the one responsible for all the corruption and decay of this once great country." The guard's eyes shifted around to make sure no one was watching and leaned closer to Tatsumi. "You better watch what you say around here. They'd have our heads if they heard us talking like this."

"Then…" Tatsumi said through gritted teeth, as he tightly clenched his fists. "The heavy taxes that are plaguing my village are also…"

"Are common knowledge in the capital…" The guard, as he pointed over towards a nearby wall. "There's also those guys that we have to worry about." Tatsumi's eyes followed where the guard was pointing. Attached to a nearby brick wall were several wanted posters. Tatsumi broke out into a cold sweat, as he scanned over the wanted posters, taking note of a few names such as "Akame", "Najenda", and "Bulat".

"Night Raid?" Tatsumi asked, turning to face the guard he was with.

"They're a group of assassins who have been terrorizing the capital." The guard explained, as he grabbed one of the posters. "As the name suggests they mainly attack at night. They target high ranking government officials and wealthy families. So you best be on your guard. They could be anywhere."

"N-No problem." Tatsumi said, trying his best to sound confident and determined. _"I don't know why, but I have a feeling I'll run into this Akame girl and Night Raid very soon. I'll have to be ready when that time comes."_ he thought, reaching behind his back to grasp the sword that he found days ago, before letting go.

"One more thing..." The guard said, as he tapped Tatsumi's shoulder. "You're helping with that." Tatsumi turned around to see the other two guards struggling to hold up a massive box.

"You gotta be kidding me…" Tatsumi exclaimed in an annoyed tone.

* * *

 **(Several Hours Later)**

Night had once again descended upon the capital, and almost everyone in Aria's home was fast asleep. Everyone but Aria's mother. The older woman hummed to herself, as she walked through one of the manor's hallways.

"Now then… time to write today's journal entry. Next is… Tatsumi." Aria's mother said, as she held her small journal close to her chest. "Heh, I just can't seem to quit this hobby..." Before the woman could say another word, her entire world turned upside down and immense pain coursed through her body. "Huh?" In that instant Aria's mother saw that she had been cut clean in half at her midsection. Blood sprayed from her severed torso, coating the walls and her unknown attacker. The older woman died even before the top half of her body even hit the ground.

The assassin, revealed to be a busty purple-haired woman, swiped her large scissor like weapon; spreading the blood that coated it across the hallway. "I'm terribly sorry." The purple-haired woman said, as she bowed her head.

It was at this moment that Tatsumi shot up in his bed, hearing a strange noise outside his room. A chill ran up the young man's spine, as quickly scrambled out of the bed. "What the? There's an intense sense of bloodlust in the air…" Tatsumi rushed to get dressed, grabbing his sword as he bolted out of his room. As Tatsumi raced through the mansion's halls, the guard's words about Night Raid echoed in his mind. _"Damn, I didn't think I'd run into them this quickly!"_ Tatsumi came to a skidding stop when he spotted several shadowy figures, standing on what appeared to be wire threads, outside one of the manor's windows. "There's no doubt. That's Night Raid!" Tatsumi clenched his fists, as he stared at the silhouetted assassins. "Are they targeting this family just because they're rich?" When Tatsumi lowered his gaze, he spotted several guards running out to face the assassins. _"What do I do? Help them...or guard the family?!"_

"Heh, three guards. They're our targets as well." A green-haired man said with grin. "Akame, they're all yours."

"I will eliminate them all." Akame said, as she leaped off the wires she was standing on. The dark-haired girl crashed into the ground a few feet in front of the three guards; her hand immediately reaching for the hilt of her sword.

"Okay guys… whatever you do don't let her sword touch you, no matter what!" The head guard yelled, as he lead the other two guards in a charge towards Akame.

"Homoru." Akame muttered, before she shot forward at a blinding speed. In the blink of an eye, Akame had unsheathed her sword and slashed the lead guard's throat; blood spraying from his wound. Before the next guard had a chance to react a large spear punctured his chest. A large armored assassin walked up to the guard, and withdrew the spear from his sternum.

"This… is what I deserve…" The lead guard managed to say, as he felt poison race through his body. As the poison spread, ink black marking spread across the guard's body. "For having a… rotten soul…" The guard collapsed as the poison reached his heart, causing it to instantly shut down.

"W-What th-the…" The last guard said, looking in horror. Deciding that fighting wasn't a possibility, the guard turned tail and started to run away. "Fuck this! These guys are way worse than any monster!" The man didn't make it three steps before he was shot in the back of the head.

"Pathetic." A petite pink-haired girl said, as she lowered her still smoking gun. The girl's eyes were hard, as she glared at the dead guard. "Deserting your comrades under enemy fire."

"Ah, I think that was just plain old running away." The green-haired man said with a sweatdrop.

" _T-They were all massacred...in seconds!"_ Tatsumi thought, as he stared at the carnage before him with disbelieving eyes. Gritting his teeth, Tatsumi tore his eyes away and took off down the hallway once more. _"I've got to at least protect Miss Aria!"_

In another part of the mansion, another assassin was finishing off her target. The busty blonde-haired woman Tatsumi had met the previous day was holding up Aria's father by his throat. However, now the woman's hair had elongated, she had catlike ears on top of her head, a tail swayed from side to side behind her, and her hands had become covered in fur with sharp claws; her grip was slowly tightening around the man's neck as the seconds ticked by.

"S-Spare me… p-please… I-I have a daughter…" Aria's father struggled to say, as the blonde woman's grip continued to tighten around his neck.

"Don't worry. You'll be meeting her in hell soon enough." The woman said, raising her head to reveal slitted golden eyes.

"Not my daughter too… have you no mercy?" Aria's father asked, just as the blonde woman snapped his neck with her bare hand, killing him immediately.

"Mercy?" The blonde parroted with a sadistic glint in her golden eyes. "That's a word I've never heard before. You'll have to explain what it means when I see you in hell someday."

* * *

 **(Storage Shed; Just Outside of the Mansion)**

"Miss, this way!" A guard yelled, as he pulled Aria towards the storage shed.

"W-What's going on?" Aria asked in a frightened tone.

"We must get you inside the storage shed, you'll be safe inside there!" The guard exclaimed, as the shed came into view.

"Miss Aria, I finally found you!" The guard and Aria turned around to see Tatsumi behind them; panting heavily from running the whole way there.

"Tatsumi!" Aria exclaimed, as a look of relief spread across her face.

"Perfect timing!" The guard shouted, pointing at Tatsumi. "We'll seek shelter in the storage shed, and you stay out here and hold the enemy until the authorities arrive."

"That's the worst fucking idea I've ever he —" Tatsumi was cut off when he heard someone land directly behind him. Spinning around, Tatsumi's eyes widened when saw a dark-haired girl with red eyes. "Oh, fuck me." he cursed as he came across the girl named Akame before she unsheathed her sword and shot forward. "I guess I have no choice!" Tatsumi yelled. He was about to take out his sword, but he suddenly felt like there was something off around here.

First off, why would Night Raid target a family that helped him?

Second, if they were after money, why were they killing the family instead of just grabbing the money and escaping?

And lastly, where was the backup that one of the guards promised to bring back? Shouldn't the authorities have arrived right about now?

"Not a target." Akame's monotone voice snapped Tatsumi from his thoughts. The dark-haired girl leaped into the air, looking like an angel of death, and used Tatsumi's back as a springboard. Tatsumi quickly spun around, and saw Akame sprinting towards the guard and Aria.

"Shit! She's coming this way! Get behind me, Miss Aria!" The guard yelled, as he pulled out his gun. Loading a fresh clip into the weapon, the guard opened fire on Akame. However, the guard could only stare with wide eyes as he watched Akame dodge all of his bullets.

"I will eliminate…" Time seemed to slow down for Akame, as she approached her targets. She quickly ducked and dodged the speeding bullets being fired at her. Once she was close enough, the girl horizontally slashed her sword; decapitating the guard protecting Aria. "All targets." Aria could only cower away, as Akame approached her. "You will be buried as well." Tears formed in Aria's eyes, as she prepared for the finishing blow. "You deserve this." The girl spoke and when she swung her sword, she stopped mid swing and back flipped away as a large heavy bag thudded right where she was.

"That's enough. You have your money, now leave." Tatsumi said, positioning himself in front of Aria. "Tatsumi! Thank goodness you came! She's trying to kill me!"

"You're not a target." The girl said. "You don't have to die."

Tatsumi glared at the girl. "And you don't have to kill an innocent little girl. Now you have your money, one whole bag full of it. Now leave!"

"She has to die."

"I see… you're a bunch of murderers… Night Raid… well, I won't let you murder a helpless little girl."

"Mhm..." The red-eyed girl said. "So you won't step aside?"

"I'll never back down to a fight, even if I face all of you at once." Tatsumi glared, reaching up and slowly unzipping his jacket, preparing to take it off though he kept his eye on the girl.

"I see… then you've made your choice." Akame said, brandishing her katana.

Coming from the forest, the girl from before, the one who stole Tatsumi's money appeared. "Too easy… I wish I had a bit more to play with." She then realized that something was off about the situation at hand. "Hmm, what's this? It's not like Akame to take so long in killing a target… Ah, you gotta be kidding me… jeez." The girl said, facepalming when he saw Tatsumi defending Aria from Akame. "This kid… You can't catch a break can you? You're going to get yourself into more trouble in the future."

Tatsumi calmly tossed his jacket to the side, before removing his undershirt, showing off his muscular torso. Unknown to him, the blonde girl was approaching but she stopped once she saw that Tatsumi was quite strong looking, even from a distance. Tatsumi had two tribal tattoos going from each pec and heading straight down while there was a small dragon branded near his right shoulder blade.

He grabbed his sword and unsheathed it, quickly brandishing the sharp weapon as he failed to notice the look of surprise on the blonde woman's face when she saw his weapon. He slowly got into a fighting stance, ready to defend Aria.

"Final warning, Akame from Night Raid." Tatsumi said, unaware of the three other figures who appeared next to the blonde bombshell, whom Tatsumi was still unaware of. Those three figures also shared a look of surprise upon seeing the strange sword in the young man's grasp.

"You've made your choice." Akame repeated, hiding her surprise well when she saw Tatsumi's strange-looking katana. And with that, they both attacked.

A girl with pink twin-tails was holding onto some sort of gun as she snapped out of her surprise. "What's taking so long Leone?! Why's Akame making us wait?!"

Leone pointed towards Tatsumi, closely examining the young man as well. "Him…"

"A bodyguard?"

"Yes, but he was a special one just hired today… he's clueless about who the family is… but he's very resilient and he is quite the fighter…"

"Should we take care of him?" spoke a guy with green hair. " _His sword has a special design into it… but, I wonder if it's just decoration or could it be a teigu?"_ he said in his thoughts.

"No, let Akame handle it… I'm also curious about what this guy can do… especially on that sword of his… it looks a bit like _**Murasame**_ but it doesn't seem to be teigu."

"Do you know him or something?" the green guy asked.

"Yeah… we kinda had a run in in town… I kind of stole his money. Hehe…"

"Again..." he deadpanned.

Akame charged with her sword. Tatsumi held his sword tightly and charged as well that he was oblivious to the looks of shock that were shown by the other Night Raid members when he was suddenly wrapped in a yellowish aura and his sword starting to glow. Akame still managed to hide her shock well, but she barely got to dodge the horizontal slash that Tatsumi delivered by jumping in the air. Looking back, she saw the brunette stopping in his tracks and turned around to charge at her again with his advantage in speed.

" _His speed is exceptional,"_ she quickly concluded. " _I must be quick."_ Akame attacked with a simple strike to the neck, hoping to end it with one shot but Tatsumi was quicker as it looked like she was going in slow motion to him. He blocked her strike with his sword before going on the offensive, not wanting to give her any openings to attack. He began to strike rapidly, aiming to slash and bleed the girl with multiple cuts and Akame was now on the defensive, using her sword to block the numerous strikes, while trying to find an opening.

Tatsumi pushed her sword to the side and began to swing wide, slashing downwards with multiple attacks, using his superior testerone strength to move her blade away each time. On the third strike though, his sword hit Akame above her right breast, cutting a good half inch into her flesh which began to bleed profusely. She hissed a bit in pain and looked at the wound before looking back at Tatsumi. He responded with his eyebrow raised, basically telling her 'surprised huh?'.

Akame narrowed her red eyes and attacked once more, getting fast and aggressive with her strikes and forcing Tatsumi on the defensive who began to block each strike with his sword. However, it would seem that Akame's experience with a blade gives her the win when she managed to disarm Tatsumi of his sword. However, before she could even deal the final blow, he grabbed onto Akame's wrist, pulled her towards and elbowed her hard in the face, leaving a medium-sized bruise afterwards.

Since Tatsumi was more experienced in unarmed combat, he pulled her once again into him and gave her another stiff forearm that she was losing her grip on her sword. He continued to repeat this same process and wore Akame down with his elbows that she couldn't defend herself anymore. Taking this as an opportunity, Tatsumi kicked her sword away, disarming her completely and rendering her vulnerable that also shocked her fellow Night Raid comrades.

Knowing that he was taking control over this fight, he shifted his attacks from forearms to chops towards her chest, making the wound on her breast bleed even more as Akame was being forced back due to his continuous assault. He knew that he couldn't let her fight back because it would be dangerous for him. When he saw that she was about to react out of instinct, he went for a combination of both chops to her chest and elbows to her face, further wearing Akame down that she was nearly losing this fight. It reached the climax when Tatsumi suddenly grabbed both sides of her head and delivered an ear-splitting headbutt that got the girl down for the count while he stumbled back and felt his forehead with his hand, only to notice that blood slowly started to pour down his face as a consequence of his last attack.

On the sidelines, the blonde woman was watching with awe. She had never seen Akame receive this kind of punishment in a fight before, especially when her opponent was just a young and inexperienced man and much because she rarely gets pushed to her limit. Was she caught off guard by the brunette? That could be the reason why she was nearly losing this exchange of attacks.

Well, it's not really an exchange anymore.

The pink-haired girl however, was getting annoyed.

"How is this even possible?! Is Akame going soft on the guy?! Damn it! AKAME!" The girl yelled, forcing Tatsumi to look into the direction of the voice just as he was about to attack again. It proved to be a mistake as when he heard the ' _woosh'_ of a blade, his eyes went wide, and he quickly rolled to the side to pick up his sword from the ground. But just as he was about to defend himself, Akame managed to disarm him again before he could get a good grip on his weapon. He fell to the ground and when he looked up from the attack, Akame was in front of him, aiming her blade to cleave him in two.

"Hold on there." Leone spoke, grabbing Akame by her jacket and yanking her back. With cute eyes, the red-eyed girl looked up.

"What are you doing?" she asked in her usual tone.

"We got some time left… and I kind of owe this guy a favor. I'm pretty sure he would like to cash it in now." Leone said, catching Tatsumi's eye and giving him a wink.

Tatsumi stood up and growled. "It's you… the girl with the big boobs!" he said, pointing his finger accusingly at her.

"Yup, that's what they call me!" Leone said, giving him a wave and a smile, before she got serious afterwards. "Listen kid… you've got the wrong idea about this house… and this girl." she began, grabbing Aria by her clothing before she even tried to escape.

"Huh?" Tatsumi was confused.

"You will change your mind once you see what's behind that door." Leone said before moving past him and kicked open the door. "Here it is… welcome to the Empire." Leone said. Tatsumi walked in and his eyes immediately widened upon seeing what was inside.

"What… what is this?"

"This is what your employers like to do… they take in strays from the country side, offer them a nice meal and then send them here afterwards…"

The barn was a slaughterhouse. Hundreds of people were inside; some were hanging by their arms, and others by their necks. Some were on tables, mutilated… others where in cages, dead, dying or simply awaiting their fates. However, one figure hanging from the ropes caught Tatsumi's eye.

"S-Sayo… no! Sayo!" Sayo was hanging naked from the rafters, the ropes cutting into her wrists as she hung there lifelessly. She was covered in bruises and had multiple cuts all over her body, especially her breasts which had the most bruises.

"So, you know one of them huh…?" Leone said, mostly to herself. She spotted Aria trying to sneak away but she grabbed her head and sneered. "And where do you think you are going? You've got a lot of answers to give us, little missy."

"This family really did this?"

"The little girl here is the one most responsible for THIS. The guards kept quiet about it, so they were equally guilty. Her parents had no problem with it and even her mother went here to have some 'fun' for her own amusement."

"Tatsumi! Who are you going to believe?! This bunch of murderers or the girl who took you in?!" Aria pleaded. "I never even knew about this place!"

"T-Tatsumi." Spoke a voice, which was croaked and nearly unrecognizable.

"Ieyasu!" Tatsumi exclaimed upon seeing one of his best friends locked inside a cage, completely naked and looking bloody and beaten. His eyes widened when Ieyasu suddenly pointed his finger towards Aria and began to speak in a highly desperate voice.

"It's really you… Tatsumi… that… bitch… she picked us up when we arrived… and then… she would torture Sayo for hours! I couldn't help her! She's the little devil that brought us here in this place! But Sayo… never gave in… she had hope that you'd find us and save us from this rotten place! And here you are… I just knew you'd come eventually… that little bitch has nowhere to go now…"

Aria then broke free of the blonde girl's grasp and her face became too disturbing for one to see. "Ok, so I did it! And what's wrong with that?! That little slut should be grateful! How dare these country slobs have such beautiful hair! You're all just a bunch of cattle that should serve people like me! Mine is so unruly! So, I gave her extra special treatment! That's why I made sure she would suffer and remember me! She should be grateful!"

"A family disguised as good Samaritans and yet doing these things to other people… how disturbing. Sorry for stopping you, Akame."

"I will eliminate her." Akame said, the wound on her chest covered by a red piece of cloth to stop the bleeding.

"Wait." came Tatsumi's voice from inside the shed.

"Oh, come now Tatsumi… are you still planning to protect her?" Leone asked annoyed.

Tatsumi head lowered that his bangs covered his eyes as he unsheathed his sword. "No." As fast as a speeding bullet, Tatsumi slashed through Aria and sliced her into half with a single swipe. "I'll kill her myself!" he shouted just as the yellow aura from his body disappeared again and blood spurting to his naked torso and pants.

 _"The girl was pretty heinous… but he did that with no hesitation… and such brutality and efficiency. He's quite skilled and he was almost able to beat Akame without even struggling… his striking skills are also top-notch…"_ Leone thought, finishing her little examination of Tatsumi.

"Heh… that's my Tatsumi… I'm glad to see that bitch go." Leyasu said before coughing up some blood as he collapsed inside his cell and leaned against the metal bars, slowly dying.

"No! Ieyasu!" Tatsumi rushed back inside the shed and went to the cage where his friend was, looking at Ieyasu's dying form that he didn't even know what to do next.

"The mother liked to use 'medicines' on her victims and look at the results. She kept a journal on the effects and loved to gloat about it. I'm sorry… Tatsumi. He's gone." Akame said out of concern, disregarding her encounter with him just earlier.

Tatsumi began to tear up, his tears falling on the floor as Ieyasu looked up at his best friend and smiled one last time before he drew his last breath. "Take… care… of Sayo… for me… see you later… Tatsumi," he murmured before embracing the end.

"What the hell is wrong with this place?" Tatsumi sobbed, punching the wooden floor with his fists repeatedly.

"Let's go…" Akame spoke softly, turning to Leone.

"Wait… shouldn't we take him with us?" the blonde girl said, pointing her thumb at the sobbing boy inside the shed.

"Huh?"

"We're understaffed and he's quite skilled. I'll talk to the Boss about letting him in." Leone said, grabbing Tatsumi by his jacket and began to drag him away.

"Wait! What are you doing! Let me go! Stop it damnit!"

"T-Tatsumi..." spoke a soft voice. "P-Please… d-don't leave me."

Tatsumi stopped squirming and his eyes widened as he saw Sayo open her eyes slightly and look up at him pleading.

"Sayo! Damn it, let go of me!" Tatsumi said, biting Leone's wrist, forcing her to drop Tatsumi in response as he took the chance to run back to the shed for his friend.

"Ouch! You little bastard!" Leone cursed, rubbing her wrist. "That little shit just bit me!" Leone complained to Akame, who was only blankly staring at the scene. " _He bit me… Tatsumi, do you realize what you've just did?"_ she thought to herself, slightly blushing.

Tatsumi rushed over to Sayo after using his sword to cut the ropes that were holding her up, before holding her in his arms, tears threatening to fall from his eyes once again. He used his jacket to cover her naked body before he tried to see if her heartbeat could be heard. In all honesty, Tatsumi had a crush on her that started back in the village and he even had Ieyasu as a love rival for Sayo's affections back then, but that was until they set out for the Capital that he forgot his affections for her. Still, the bond between the three of them was unbreakable, which would explain why Tatsumi was desperate to save them.

"Sayo! Sayo! I got you! Are you ok?!" he asked in panic.

"T-Tatsumi… t-thank you…" Sayo said before closing her eyes.

"Sayo! Sayo! No! Please, you gotta wake up!"

"Step aside," Leone said as she nudged Tatsumi to the side with her foot before checking Sayo for a pulse. She sighed afterwards, looking over Tatsumi with a serious look. "She's alive… but if she doesn't get help soon, she will die of blood loss."

"Help her please! I'll come with you guys freely if it means she gets the help she needs! Please!"

Leone's eyes softened at the tears in Tatsumi's eyes that she couldn't resist her next words.

"Fine, but we have to leave immediately, She needs to see a doctor back at the camp. NOW."

Tatsumi nodded and watched Leone carry Sayo in her arms before taking off. "Try to keep up, otherwise you'll get lost!" Leone said, running with Sayo in her arms with Akame and Tatsumi following. When they arrived at the area where the other members of Night Raid were, the armored figure looked at them.

"You finally returned." the figure spoke in a low voice.

Leone looked back behind her and stared at Tatsumi, who was looking at Sayo the whole time. "Bulat, please take Tatsumi with you. We need to move back now. Quickly."

"Understood." Bulat said, grabbing Tatsumi who yelled at Bulat for picking him up like a feather. Tatsumi felt his man-card was a bit at stake but stopped yelling as he knew this was for Sayo's sake.

"You're late! What took you both so long?! Who the hell are these guys?" The pink-haired girl asked, raising her eyebrow at the boy that Bulat was carrying and the girl that was unconscious in Leone's arms. "This is Tatsumi and Sayo. This girl needs medical help and the other will join us, now let's go!" Leone said, running away with Bulat.

Tatsumi, being carried by Bulat as the whole group ran through the forest, his thoughts were on Sayo, hoping she would be alright. Ieyasu did make him swear to take care of Sayo for him, did he somehow know that she would survive?

He also wondered what his new life would be like, now that he was going to be a member of Night Raid.

* * *

 _ **So... the harem stands at:**_

 ** _Sayo -_** _(I feel that she should have stayed alive in the real deal...)_

 ** _Akame -_** _(Of course my OTP is included, who do you think I am?)_

 ** _Leone -_** _(Leone's mate has arrived for some animal fun!)_

 ** _Mine -_** _(Oh, this girl is gonna get what she deserves when I get to write her scenes)_

 ** _Chelsea -_** _(This bombshell is one sexy girl that it's impossible for her not to get included)_

 ** _Sheele -_** _(I'm gonna have a hard time with this one... airheads are damn hard to crack)_

 ** _Seryu -_** _(I felt bad for her when she died... she was just blinded by the Empire in the end, and I want her to know what true justice is)_

 ** _Possible Members: Esdeath -_** _(Need to figure out how to make her adjust to a harem well, she's more possessive than Akame)_

 ** _Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review._**

 ** _Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture*_**

 ** _-Lance_**


	2. Kill the Teigu

"Normal Talking"

 _"Thoughts"_

 **Flashbacks**

 **(Time and Place indicators)**

 ** _Teigu_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga Kill or any of its characters..._**

* * *

It took them a good twenty minutes to arrive back at base. Well, for Bulat at least. It seemed that the armored fellow possessed speed when he was in that particular form. Leone was right on his tail due to her heightened speed provided by her teigu while the others would stay behind by about fifteen minutes before they could get back to base, but that wasn't the case here, though. Leone and Bulat were attending to their wounded acquaintances and… well, Tatsumi wasn't wounded but close enough. From her earlier condition, it was clear that Sayo wasn't going to last long if she doesn't receive the proper medical treatment immediately. Ieyasu was gone, and Tatsumi had no choice but to accept that; however, he wasn't going to let the same thing happen to Sayo. He had thought of the girl like a sister and he had feelings for her back when they were still in the village, and he wasn't going to let her die.

Not with him around.

" _Hang in there, Sayo!"_ Tatsumi thought to himself as he sneaked a glance behind him. " _I swear on my life, I won't let you die! You're going to survive this, Sayo! I promised Ieyasu that I'd take care of you, and I don't want to break that promise!"_

Upon arrival, Tatsumi went with Leone into the medical facility, the girl placing the unconscious Sayo on the bed while Tatsumi quickly washed his hands with hot water and soap to prepare himself for what was next. His jacket, which was covering Sayo's naked body, was already stained with her blood and it must mean that she was losing her blood at a fast rate, which could lead to death if not treated immediately.

It was after he finished washing his hands that the doctor who would attend to Sayo, came inside. However, the brunette paid the newcomer no heed as he went over to Sayo and began to inspect her body, checking out her wounds to see how much damage she took and if there was a chance that she would be alright. No matter how small of a chance that may be, he'd take it if it meant saving the life of his dear friend.

The doctor crossed his arms and sighed. "Kid, you shouldn't be touching the body. I know that you want to save her, but you need to leave this matter to a professional. You need to leave now so that I can check and see what injuries she sustained."

"I'm both a fighter and a healer back in the village where I come from." the young man responded, not averting his gaze from Sayo's figure for a second. "I've seen my fair share of injuries like this… but… medical treatment has never been my specialty in all my years in treating people, so I'm not well-versed in everything."

The doctor nodded. "I see… alright then, this is your friend, correct? Since you came here with her, I'm going to assume that you knew what happened that caused her to be like this. I'm trusting your judgement on this, but remember that we are trying to save her life here. So, what do we have to work on?"

"Sayo was brutally beaten and she sustained so many cuts she…" he paused for a few seconds to take a deep breath, trying to forgot the horrible sight of his childhood friend hanged in that disgusting shed. "She needs a blood transfer… my blood will do since we have the same blood type. I don't care if I have to give away half of mine, I just want to save her… can you quickly set it up?"

"Yes." The doctor said, quickly setting up the blood transfer unit, before moving quickly so he can focus on Sayo. After five minutes, the blood began to pump from Tatsumi's veins and into Sayo. "I'm quite impressed kid… you were spot on about this girl… all she needed was a blood transfer. Her wounds will either heal up completely or become permanent scars. Either way, they aren't that too serious for injuries. Jusr became scary cause of their number. But, it was a good thing that it didn't take long for you to get her here… a few more minutes later and she might have died."

He turned his gaze towards Sayo. "Will she be alright?" he asked out of concern, also feeling himself become slightly weakened due to the increasing amount of blood that was getting drained out of him.

"Yeah. She might wake up tomorrow or maybe the day after that, who knows? What's important right now is she gets the proper rest and sleep for her recovery."

"That's a relief…" Tatsumi sighed in happiness. "Good thing I reached this place just in time…"

The doctor chuckled. "You sound like you're really good friends with her."

Tatsumi rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, we grew up together… ever since we were in diapers… we trained hard together, ate and slept together… and did practically everything together. She's my best friend. Well, _one_ of my best friends… the other one didn't make it and I wasn't even able to help him at the very least."

"I'm sorry for your loss." the doctor said and silence took over the place for a few seconds before he stood up. "Well, I have somd other patients to work on. I will have a nurse do some rounds every half hour to check on Sayo, then." The doctor said, washing his hands from all the blood before looking at the monitor on the blood transfer that he was in shock afterwards.

"Ah shit!" The doctor cursed, rushing over immediately and unhooked Tatsumi from the blood transfer unit. He turned his eyes back to the monitor and shook his head. "You've given up 2 liters of blood. This is't good. NURSE!" The doctor roared. "I'm terribly sorry Tatsumi, I didn't mean to take so much."

"It's fine. I'm doing this for Sayo's sake," he responded calmly, but it clearly meant the opposite internally.

The nurse came in quickly. "Help escort Tatsumi to night raid and get him some fluids! He needs a lot of water quickly."

She nodded. "Yes sir."

Tatsumi felt just fine while he was sitting down but as soon as the nurse pulled him to his feet, he felt extremely dizzy and collapsed in the nurse's arms almost immediately before his arm was slung over the woman's shoulders and got out of there.

* * *

After a five minute walk, Tatsumi was in a spare bedroom, sitting on the bed while he was drinking a large bottle of water. "Damn, this place looks pretty fine for a hideout… makes me wonder how are they not being found yet…" he joked before throwing the empty bottle accurately inside the nearby trash can. He then yawned strongly before he collapsed back in the bed in an awkward position.

" _I hope Sayo wakes up soon… anyway, so… Night Raid, huh? They don't seem to be evil like what the wanted posters all over the city are saying… if anything, that damn family are worse than them… I'll have to thank them for helping Sayo when she wakes up before we leave this place. Hang, I did say that I'd go willingly with them just earlier back at that mansion, so that means… no, that's impossible. There is no way that they'll recruit someone like me and I doubt they'll let us stay because of what I did to Akame… argh, forget it. I'm gonna think about this when I wake up."_ he thought to himself before snuggling into his pillow, sleeping peacefully.

Little did he know that fate had something better in store for him.

* * *

After 2 hours had passed, Tatsumi woke up literally with a jump and let out a yawn, feeling revitalized and at the same time, still a bit sleepy. But it was then that he found out Leone, the blonde woman from the night before, was in his room sleeping just beside the bed, leaning against the mattress.

" _What the?"_ Tatsumi blinked in confusion for a few seconds and quietly moved out of the bed, letting the girl sleep. He slowly reached over and lifted her up and onto the bed, internally hoping that he didn't wouldn't wake her up and it was a good thing that he didn't. Tatsumi smiled softly and moved out of the room before he made his way down the hallway to the left, hoping to find the way towards the clinic where Sayo was recovering.

He got lost just within five minutes of exploring, but he finally found his way out after half an hour of wandering around the hallways. He ended up in the large dining room, which in the middle there was a large table that was currently empty but took up half of the room. The kitchen was right next to the table so it meant that food was always nearby. Right now, he saw Akame behind the stove, wearing an apron while cooking up some vegetables before she went on to chop up meat.

Since her senses were much better than a normal person's, she was able to detect Tatsumi's presence in the room when he stepped inside, but she didn't say a thing. However, when he went closer towards her, Akame turned to him and looked at his face.

"You're up." she said in her signature monotonous voice.

He grinned in embarrassment while also blushing slightly, silently admiring Akame's cute look with her hair tied in a ponytail while also wearing an apron. "Yeah… I ended up getting lost in this huge place."

"Understandable," Akame replied, returning to her cooking while also trying to resist the pain she felt in her chest area. The wound she suffered from last night during her battle against Tatsumi was the main reason why she wasn't able to get the proper sleep.

It was then Tatsumi noticed that there was a red piece of cloth from underneath her shirt that covered her right breast, showing that she was still injured and was in pain. He also noticed that her beautiful face still hasn't recovered from the beating that she received last night.

His voice took a serious turn. "Get on the table. I need to fix that wound. It ain't gonna disappear just because you covered it up. And those bruises on your face need treatment otherwise it will affect you." he told her firmly.

"I'm fine. It's not deep and it'll heal up tonight. These bruises will be gone immediately once I get a good sleep." she insisted.

"No, they won't." Tatsumi said as he turned off the stove and grabbed Akame by her arm before he gently picked her up and headed towards the table with a serious expression on his face. She didn't struggle and just looked at him, although a faint blush could be seen on her cheeks at his sudden move.

After he gently laid her on top of the table, Akame noticed that he was still shirtless, as he left his shirt back at Aria's mansion. Tatsumi then pulled out a small knife from his waist pocket before he gently pulled up Akame's shirt and revealing her white bra which Tatsumi removed as well. Using his knife, he cut through the red cloth that was covering up the wound on her chest and the girl was left topless in front of him.

He blushed at seeing the naked body of a female, but he ignored it and gently laid her back on the table, before he grabbed a small box from his leather pants. Inside it was a sterile needle, a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a bunch of thread. There was also another bottle filled with green liquid, and there was a larger one filled with a reddish brown liquid.

"The sword I used last night against you had poison in its blade. It's used as an alternative for killing my enemies if in case I can't finish them off immediately and if I have a hard time in fighting." he explained, looking into her red eyes.

"A smart tactic." she complimented before looking up at the ceiling. "I never expected your weapon to be poison, though. You caught me off guard."

" _In other words, he has a one-cut killer like me…"_ she thought in her mind, imagining both Tatsumi's and her own sword at the same time.

"Back in my village, a rare poisonous plant grows there that we cultivate regularly and use as poison if ever we needed to defend ourselves. The green liquid is the poison itself and it's made by directly getting the juice out of the leaves. The brown-looking one is the antidote and while the it's made by the same plant, it's only done when the plant matured and boiled in hot water so the antidote is less common than the poison. A few days before I got to the Capital, I applied the poison to my sword when I lost my old one."

"I see." Akame said, staying calm despite the slight embarrassment at being naked in front of a boy. This got Tatsumi to freak out for a bit, but he had no idea who the girl really was and what her attitude was.

Things were silent between them while he was trying to figure out how to cure her properly before Akame spoke once again. "May I ask where did your sword come from? Did you make it? When I saw it last night, it had a unique design to it that slightly resembled my own weapon. If you did, then you must be a skilled blacksmith in your village."

"Found it in a cave," he said nonchalantly that caused her eyes to widen slightly.

Tatsumi steadied himself and took a deep breath before pulling out the needle and gently wiped it with the soft cloth inside the box before placing the thread through its eye. He gently put a few drops of the antidote onto the wound, watching it sizzle a bit that caused Akame to hiss a bit in pain.

After he examined her reaction to it, he took another big breath and steadied himself before placing his right arm on her bare breasts, using his left hand to grope her right breast and hold it still as he plunged the needle into Akame's sensitive flesh, earning a another hiss from the red-eyed assassin.

"A-Are you sure that you can cure it?" she asked with a tinge of doubt in her voice.

"Even if I'm more of a fighter than a doctor, I can handle this." he quickly answered, beginning to sew up the wound on her tit.

"You seem to be calm about this situation… how do you know so much about this if you're more experienced in fighting?"

"Hey, can you blame me? My village is a very poor one and only a few of us go out to hunt for food, it's obvious and very likely for us to sustain injuries and wounds while doing so. So, as a result, we needed to learn not only how to fight and defend, but also to heal. I may not look like it, but I've encountered and healed many injuries during my time in the village, Akame."

"All right. I was just trying to make sure that you know what you're trying to do."

"Who do you think I am? Some kind of perverted freak?" he joked, before going right back to work.

He gently squeezed her breast that got her to gasp, which allowed him continued to do his work. He continued on repeating this same process for a few more times to make sure that it wouldn't hurt her when he uses the needle. It took a few minutes, but he managed to completely sew up the wound on her breast, closing it.

"You alright?" Tatsumi asked the blushing female.

"I'm alright… just stung a little." she replied, taking a few deep breaths because she felt like she was in total bliss with what he was doing earlier. It was a completely new feeling to her, but she _liked_ it.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I don't have any painkillers on me. So, I did what I could to calm you down." he admitted, rubbing the back of his head out of embarrassment.

"It sure worked." spoke a teasing voice.

Tatsumi looked up and he spotted Leone who had a teasing smile on her face before he looked at the second female who came in. It was a taller, platinum-white haired female with an eye patch.

"So, who is this and what are you two doing exactly?" asked the white-haired woman with a small smirk on her lips.

With the cute eyes, Akame looked over towards Leone. "Playing doctor." she said in a blank tone. This got Leone to start laughing her butt off, enjoying the red face that Tatsumi had.

"We are not playing doctor! I was just sewing up one of the wounds!" he defended, shaking his head furiously to deny whatever Leone was trying to say.

"On her breast which you were groping!" the blonde girl laughed out, laughing between her own words that even the woman beside her couldn't help but stifle back a chuckle out of amusement.

"She had a wound on her breast! I was just trying to calm her down!" he claimed.

"Why didn't you just squeeze her hand like a normal person?" The other girl asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Well… I…" Tatsumi stuttered, unable to find a good answer for that question.

"Because both hands of his were _occupied_." Leone teased, giggling behind her hand. "He sure had fun _playing doctor_ with Akame here… he's a lucky one to even get a touch on her _assets_."

"God damnit! I was just trying to help her! I'm not a freak!" Tatsumi cried out, only for Akame to pinch his side a bit that caused him to shut up in his place.

"Please continue fixing my wounds." Akame replied as she pointed at her face, to which Tatsumi nodded and temporarily left her to get some ice from this kitchen.

"So, all kidding aside… who might this boy be?" Najenda asked as she watched the young man slowly take care of the bruises on Akame's face.

"His name is Tatsumi and he was one of the bodyguards from last night's mission." Leone began, which caused the Boss to raise an eyebrow, intrigued.

"And he's alive?" she asked with slight interest, as she remembered that the order was given clear not to let anybody in the mansion leave alive.

"He was a new employee starting that night. He was assigned to guard the little girl. He had no idea about who those people really were plus, he's a newcomer in the Capital. So, I thought the best thing to do was to bring him here with his injured friend."

The older woman nodded. "I see. Is he joining Night Raid, then? Is he any good? Any promise?"

"Maybe, but I think he's more worried about his dear friend at the moment… and is he any good? Last night, while he defending that killer family, he was beating Akame in a fight." she revealed.

Najenda looked shocked and looked over at the topless Akame on the table. "Is this true Akame?" she asked incredulously.

"He was winning until he got distracted by Mine." Akame admitted. "He got one strike on me with his sword and managed to beat me up afterwards with his bare hands."

Najenda tapped her chin with her finger, genuinely impressed with the young man already even if it was only according to Akame's words. "Interesting. Tatsumi, was it? Would you like to join Night Raid?" Najenda asked.

Not surprisingly, Tatsumi was listening the entire time to the conversation between the three women.

"I don't know, really. I mean, I'm just concerned about my friend in the sick bay. Sayo is due to wake up in a few hours or maybe even tomorrow and I don't even know who or what Night Raid is. I'm just here for my friend who's on the road to recovery."

Najenda nodded slightly; it looked like she would have to explain a bit of information to him. "I see. Well, short summary… we are a group of assassins who take care of the scum in the Capital, uprooting the corruption. Rich or poor, powerful or weak, beautiful or ugly, we don't make any exceptions."

"Like the family..." Tatsumi quietly mentioned, narrowing his eyes a bit. He had applied ice directly to her face and proceeded to use a few drops of alcohol on some of the bleeding areas, while he was constantly checking on her right breast and wiping off the excess blood on it whenever it came out.

"That's right Tatsumi, but there are so many worse people in the empire than that family." Leone said.

"That's not so hard to believe." Tatsumi sighed, remembering the dreaded shed where Ieyasu died and where Sayo was tortured. "That family has killed so many innocents and did it for pleasure. I'm aware you guys aren't innocent, but you kill the wicked. There's a difference..." Tatsumi said with a sigh as he continued to treat the bruises she suffered on her face.

Najenda was pleasantly surprised with how mature Tatsumi was. He understood that while Night Raid did it for the good of the people, they walked down a dark path to achieve this and they could atone for their sins at any time.

"Tell me about yourself, Tatsumi. You intrigue me quite a bit." she said in a tone of interest.

Tatsumi stopped dead for a second and bit his lip. He didn't like reminiscing about his past all the way to its roots, but it felt like it would be irrational as of this moment to keep holding on to his past.

He sighed. "Okay. Hmm, where do I start? Well, I was born to two parents in a small village about a hundred miles to the north of the Empire. It's a poor village, but we work together day by day to keep it healthy and running. At a young age, I was forced to train on how to be a fighter, learned how to heal and treat injuries and wounds, trained to hunt and kill for food, and how to cook."

"So, basically a housewife." spoke an arrogant voice. Tatsumi looked up for a moment and the pink-haired girl was there, smirking at him. Bulat and Lubbock was there, as well as Sheele.

"Well hello there little dude, how you doing?" Bulat asked with a grin.

"I'm fine. Just finished up with Akame's injuries." Tatsumi said before he roamed his hand across her flesh one last time, making sure there wasn't anything else to take care of. When he was finally done, he wiped the needle with a wet cloth and placed it back in the box with the alcohol and the antidote, returning it inside his pants afterwards.

He took a few steps back to let her sit up before he smiled apologetically. "Sorry about everything Akame, wasn't my intention and I guess it's in my mindset to defend those who help me."

"It's fine. You just saved my life. Thank you." Akame replied as she sat up and smiled back at him.

"And you did it with professionalism too." Leone said with a smirk. "Not like Lubbock here who would be drooling…." she thumbed at the green-haired teenager who was googly-eyed and drooling at the topless Akame, earning him a sharp jab to his stomach by the blonde girl's elbow.

Tatsumi nodded and Najenda decided to continue knowing more about the mysterious brunette.

"You said 'forced to train' earlier, but what do you mean by that? Was it against your will?"

Tatsumi turned his attention to Najenda. "My father wanted to toughen me up as a kid, he didn't want a weakling as his child, so he forced me to sign up for a training camp at the nearest village next to ours. He always liked to be the one in charge, even when it comes to decisions that I should make. My mother on the other hand, she always made me do the house chores and treated me like I was a slave inside my own house. I had to learn how to take care of myself without my parents' help. In other words, like what she said earlier, I practically am a housewife." he said, looking over towards Mine, the pink-haired sniper.

After seeing the sad look on his face, Mine unknowingly started to feel slight regret on what she said, thinking that she might be the cause of bringing back such a bad memory. The smirk on her features disappeared, and was replaced by a blank look instead.

Leone, Lubbock, Sheele, and Bulat exchanged looks of concern because of what the young man had to go through in his youth. The three of them never had to go through their childhood like that, so they never knew what it was like to get treated by your parents as if you were never wanted in the family.

At that moment, Leone's attraction towards Tatsumi reached a new height.

Akame looked like she wasn't affected whatsoever, but in truth, she felt sympathy for him. Out of all the members of Night Raid, it was Akame who had the childhood that was nearly the same as his, except the fact that it was Tatsumi who had to suffer longer. Unlike him, Akame had a little sister who was always by her side supporting her when she was little and she also didn't have the chance to be with her family for long because both girls were sold to the Empire at a young age.

Meanwhile, Tatsumi was an only child and he had nobody by his side as he grew up, which would probably explain why he cared about Ieyasu and Sayo so much that he didn't even hesitate to kill Aria for torturing both his friends last night. They must have been the people who sticked by his side even with everything the world tried to throw at him. Unlike her, Tatsumi lived through his whole childhood with abusive parents and he had to carry that burden until he grew up and became independent to watch over himself.

Although they didn't exactly go through the same fate, it was only Akame out of all of them who could understand his story and sympathize with him.

Akame wanted to know _more_ about him.

"I apologize for bringing back such a sensitive topic." Najenda said, feeling concerned for the boy's mental state and well-being.

"It's fine," he waved her apology off. "I've moved on from it and looking at the bright side, I learned how to defend myself and how to stand on my own. It's benefited me, so that's one thing that I can thank my parents for… even if they were horrible to me."

" _What an interesting kid…"_ Najenda thought. " _He went through a similar past like Akame did, yet he can still smile, crack a joke, and stay happy? He's one tough son of a gun…"_ Deciding to go straight to the point, she spoke again. "Have you killed anyone before, Tatsumi?" she asked.

"Besides the little girl? Yeah, I've had to kill a lot of people." Tatsumi said, wiping his hands from Akame's blood before wiping the tabletop clean.

"Really? What did they do?"

"I'd say I'm like the same with you guys… I kill those people who are scum to society. Corrupt leaders of villages, drug dealers, ruthless murderers, people who target the sick, blackmailers, and many others. But, it's not that easy for me to take a life back then. I've killed people ever since I graduated from the camp, but since I was a kid, it just felt wrong to take a life. But through the years, I've grown into it and sometimes went to the neighboring towns to see if there was someone who needed help against those who are trash to society, which includes my own parents."

Almost all of them gasped at he just said.

"Somehow, I was kind of expecting it… but I never thought it would be true. One night, I saw them with a mysterious stranger and I thought I'd better take a closer look and listen to what they were talking about. It turned out that both of them just made an agreement with a drug dealer; they gave him most of the money that our village worked so hard for in exchange for some kind of drugs. I found out that my parents were stealing money from the village leader, which was probably why our livelihood hasn't had a chance to prosper and become better. I had no choice at that time and I couldn't think properly, so I killed all three of them in the spot. They may have been abusive towards me, but they were still my parents." Tatsumi solemnly said aa he turned around, not wanting anyone to see his near-to-tears face.

Leone felt pity for the boy and gently hugged him from behind, pressing her generous chest against the back of his head.

"You were doing the right thing Tatsumi. I would've done the same thing if I was in your place." she said before she felt him shake off her embrace, turning back to face her and the others.

He smirked afterwards. "We'll all have to atone for the blood we have spilled someday. It doesn't matter for whatever reason it was, even if it was for the greater good." Tatsumi said, sighing as he began to clean his knife before placing it back in his pocket.

Leone smiled. "You really should join, Tatsumi. Your skill will be invaluable. Not to mention, your abilities can rival that of Akame's."

Tatsumi sighed. "I'll think about it… because all of this just too sudden for me to handle all at once. But one thing's for sure, I'll have an answer to that question maybe after a few hours when I think it over…"

"I understand. However, I would like you to rendezvous with us at the meeting room in ten minutes. Leone mentioned something strange about your weapon and I want to investigate it myself. I also would like to see how you fight so I could know just how you managed to nearly beat Akame during your encounter. Bring your weapon and yourself to the meeting. See you in a few minutes, Tatsumi." Najenda said before she left the kitchen with the others following closely behind.

Tatsumi's eye twitched.

"That'll happen the day I finally find my way out of this maze!" he yelled.

* * *

 **(10 Minutes Later; Night Raid's Meeting Room)**

"You look like a mess, Tatsumi…" Najenda commented, observing Tatsumi's current appearance closely. He was still wearing the same pants and shoes from yesterday, but he was now wearing his jacket to cover his upper body. His sword was hanging just behind his back, and his whole face was sweating buckets. "Did something happen to you on the way here?"

Leone was laughing heartily at the young man, Mine could be seen smirking at him, Lubbock, Bulat, and Sheele chuckled at their expense, while Akame simply flashed a cute smile at him.

" _I got lost again, if you gotta know! I barely made it here in time!"_ he shouted in his thoughts before he shook his head. "No, nothing! Let's just get this over with! What else do you want to know about me?"

"Very well." She turned over to the tall, muscular man inside the room. "Bulat, if you please."

Bulat nodded and stepped forward. "You might want to take a few steps back, Tatsumi." he warned the brunette, as the latter moved a few steps back. " _ **INCURSIOOOOO!"**_ he screamed out and he immediately transformed into the familiar armor that Tatsumi saw just a night ago.

"Huh?!" exclaimed Tatsumi. "Wait a second, you're the dude with the armor that carried me last night?!"

"Name's Bulat! Pleasure to meet you!" the armored assassin said happily.

"Tatsumi, Leone told me a very interesting thing, okay?" Najenda said, gaining the boy's attention. "She told me that you were beating our very own Akame in a fight, which is a real surprise because Akame is arguably the strongest member of Night Raid. Isn't that right, Akame?" she turned over to the ruby-eyed assassin who only nodded in response.

Tatsumi couldn't help but gulp in nervousness at where this conversation was getting into.

"Akame, you said that he still fought back even though you disarmed him of his weapon, correct? How exactly did he fight you?" the white-haired girl smirked.

Akame looked at Tatsumi for a brief second before she began to speak. "Even without his weapon, Tatsumi is still a formidable enemy. He was able to wound me even further just by using elbow strikes and I was even incapacitated for a little while when he used his own head to hit mine. His attacks felt like I was hitting rock itself, and I can tell that if I was a regular person, I would likely be dead right now. His technique in fighting is both unique and dangerous, in my opinion."

While Tatsumi was left surprised with Akame's interpretation of what happened, Najenda hummed while nodding, showing that she was clearly interested in knowing more about the young man's abilities. "Interesting… but, it would be better to check it with a little test. Tatsumi!" she called out.

"Y-Yeah?" he replied.

"I want you to fight Bulat using that same fighting style that Akame is talking about. No holding back. Don't worry about this fight turning serious because this is just to test your abilities and see how powerful you are."

"Wait, for real?" Tatsumi asked incredulously. "I-I don't want to hurt anyone here, especially after what you've done for Sayo…"

"Aren't you such a sweetheart, Tatsumi?" Leone teased, causing the young man to blush. "It's only a day since you've been here, and you don't want anyone to get hurt immediately!"

"You won't hurt anyone trust me, Tatsumi." Najenda said with a wink. "Bulat's armor is special, because it gives him excellent defense against attacks. And in your case, you're using your bare hands to fight against him. Remember, this is only a test. Bulat will not, in any way, retaliate or hit you back."

Tatsumi blinked a few times, still unsure of what to do at the moment.

"What's the big deal, man?" Lubbock said, shrugging his shoulders. "If the Boss says it's okay to fight, then it's okay. You're in good hands."

"Just deal with it like it's any other fight, Tatsumi. Kill the doubt, and go for the real kill." he heard Akame said with a slight smile.

And at last, Tatsumi came to a decision.

"Okay! I'll do it!" he said aloud, removing his sword's sheathe from his back before he took off his jacket, leaving him shirtless once again which drew some reactions from the females inside the room.

Leone whistled in amazement that she got a look at the brunette's amazing body once again, Mine blushed and quickly looked away, Sheele just plainly smiled even though a slight blush was on her face, and Akame's eyes locked onto the young man not because of what she saw underneath the jacket, but because she was more focused on seeing just how Tatsumi would fight an armored assassin without any weapons at all.

"Excellent." said Najenda before motioning for the other members of Night Raid to stand back and make way for the two fighters. "You have two minutes to attack Bulat with everything you've got but it is in your decision to take a rest or not. Don't worry about the armor breaking and most importantly, don't hold back in this test, Tatsumi. Remember that. The purpose of this little fight is just to test your abilities if in case, you do join us. But you can also think of it as an early morning exercise if you decline the offer. Got it?"

"Roger that." said Tatsumi, examining Bulat's armored self from head to toe, quickly thinking of a good strategy to ace this test.

"Two minutes start…" the Boss looked over at the clock on the wall as the other members all turned their attention at the young brunette.

"NOW!"

Almost immediately, Tatsumi rushed out of his position and quickly hit a low dropkick towards Bulat's foot, causing the latter to drop to one knee and the boy took advantage by jumping on the armored assassin's back.

Tatsumi then began his work by hitting elbow after elbow towards the back of Bulat's neck that was enough to wear him down that the assassin dropped to both knees afterwards. A few seconds later, he jumped off of Bulat's back and went in front of him. Tatsumi grabbed the side of the armor's helmet and began to hit it with another flurry of stiff elbows that it was a damn miracle on how the boy's flesh wasn't sustaining wounds or anything bad.

Some time later, the young brunette let go of the helmet and began hitting shoot kicks towards Bulat's armor-clad chest, which were amazingly strong enough to force the latter back into a kneeling position. Tatsumi quickly went to the side and began kicking Bulat's head over and over until the time was down to one minute.

Panting slightly, Tatsumi stopped for a few seconds to have a quick breather, only for Bulat to taunt him, asking for more with a small gesture.

Tatsumi grinned in response, before he knelt down so that he was on eye level with the assassin. He began to attack Bulat's helmet with elbows yet again, but this time he was using both his arms alternately. This particular assault continued on until there was only twenty seconds left on the clock.

He stood up again and set Bulat's helmet in his crosshairs as he prepared his right foot.

Fifteen.

He roundhouse kicked the armored assassin at the side of his head right on its mark by the ear, causing Bulat to fall to the side because of the sheer strength of the kick he received. However, before he could reach the floor, Tatsumi quickly helped him sit back up as the brunette turned his eyes to the wall in front of him, where Mine and Sheele were also standing.

Ten.

Tatsumi ran for the wall and both Mine and her purple-haired companion were shocked that he was heading towards them that they thought they were going to get involved in this fight, even if time was almost up.

But that wasn't the case.

Seven.

As soon as he touched the wall behind the two girls, he ran back towards Bulat only to pass by the armored assassin again as he headed for the opposite wall, where Leone and Akame were watching the fight unfold.

Like Sheele and Mine, the two girls thought that Tatsumi was going to get them involved in this test, only for the young man to run past them and touch the wall too.

Four.

Tatsumi ran back to Bulat with his full speed and narrowed his eyes, focusing all his strength towards one specific part of his lower body.

Two.

With a loud, resounding CLANG! he delivered a powerful soccerball kick towards the armored chest of the assassin as he ran past Bulat, a look of triumph being clearly seen in his face as he hit his final blow.

Zero.

Bulat's armored self fell to the floor in defeat just as Najenda spoke. "Time's up! That's enough, Tatsumi. Bulat, thank you for your cooperation." she said, standing up from her seat.

The armor encased around Bulat's body disappeared before the tall assassin stood up from the floor, unharmed from all the damage he was supposedly going to take had he not used Incursio. He was however, sweating so much that he quickly brought out a towel to wipe off his sweat.

"Wow Tatsumi, you move and attack as fast as lightning! You actually got me sweating even if though I had the armor on! I definitely think you should join us… you're unique and I think you could kill enemies even if you only used your bare hands!" Bulat complimented with a thumbs-up as he went to the table to cool off.

"Oh! Thanks, I guess?" the brunette replied rather awkwardly as he caught his jacket which was thrown to him by Lubbock before putting it on.

"It's just like what Bulat and Leone said…"

"Huh?" Tatsumi looked over towards the Boss only to see her grinning.

"You're one of a kind, Tatsumi." she praised. "Your stiff striking accompanied by your extraordinary speed makes for a dangerous combo. Now, I'm beginning to see how you were able to almost beat Akame in a fight. Your hands and feet didn't even sustain any injuries from trying to beat someone wearing armor. This is the first time I've seen someone fight in this way, and I have to say that it is both frightening and interesting to watch from a distance. The way on how you gathered momentum before going for that final kick was definitely a good use of your surroundings, and you managed to keep Bulat down without standing up for the rest of the test. Leone was right, you will truly be a valuable asset of our group if you do end up joining."

Now, Tatsumi was really trying to consider whether he should join or not. If he did join, he could join other people in the fight against this corrupt Empire and he'd earn himself new friends along the way. But, what would Sayo say to him eventually when she wakes up? That she didn't consider him a friend anymore? That he became a ruthless killer? It was too big of a risk to even say that she was perfectly fine with him being an assassin because Sayo was too innocent for these kinds of things like killing, assassinating, corruption, and many others.

His two options were balanced.

But, before he could even get a chance to further think about what he would pick out of those two options, Najenda began to speak again.

"Well, that was certainly interesting but it's time that we move on. Leone also told me that you possessed a weird-looking sword from last night. Can you show it to me?" she asked.

Tatsumi picked up the katana that was lying down on the floor and held it high for everyone to see. Since it was still sheathed, they have yet to see what was inside and little did they know that Tatsumi was more special than they thought he was. The sheath looked like an ordinary one used to contain a katana inside, complete with its hanging cord and the yellow-trimmed scabbard perfectly fitted the blade's length; however, if looked at closely, one could see the big star-shaped guard on the sword, which was definitely weird for a normal katana.

"Okay, can you unsheathe it?" the white-haired woman requested, and Tatsumi complied immediately as he removed his sword from its cage.

He held the sword up high for everyone to see once again, and the strange design could be definitely seen even from a distance. From a normal person's eyes, it would look like it was just created with class, but it would be almost impossible to _just_ forge something like this right?

"Doesn't look anything special to me," Mine remarked, shrugging her shoulders afterwards. "It just means that you have skill in making weapons. The design is weird but cool at the same time, that's all you're getting from me."

"I don't have the slightest idea on how to forge weapons." he retorted. "I actually found this killing machine inside a cave a few miles away from here."

Nearly everyone got confused with what he said.

A sword found in a cave?

Now, who in their right minds would ever think about that? Swords are forged, and they are _not_ found inside caves; what's more, even if it was indeed found in a cave, it was still forged by somebody.

"You're not going to convince anybody here, Tatsumi." said Mine with a small smirk. "That sword is forged, end of story. Even if you didn't make it in the first place, someone must have created it before going out of their mind by placing it inside said cave. Right, Boss?" she turned over towards Najenda to ask for her verbal support in her claim, only to find the older woman staring blankly at Tatsumi's sword.

The other members of Night Raid and Tatsumi himself turned their attention to Najenda as well, and they all shared the same look of confusion upon noticing the strange look on the woman's voice.

"Uh, Boss?" Leone said as she waved her arms, trying to get Najenda's attention and possibly snap her out of whatever trance she was in.

"Boss?" said Sheele, raising an eyebrow as she adjusted her glasses.

"Boss, is something wrong? You're looking a bit distracted there…" Mine asked while snapping her fingers to try and gain the older woman's attention back.

Najenda shook her head repeatedly a few times and turned her gaze back to Tatsumi's sword. The young man finally saw through her and noticed that she was staring at the katana he was holding, causing him to frown in confusion. This was getting really weird not only for him, but for the others as well.

"H-How?" she managed to blurt out.

"How what?" Tatsumi replied.

"How could you have come across it? It was supposed to be a legend and there was no chance of ever finding it… but if you still manage to use it until now, then you must be its owner, Tatsumi…" she continued, which only caused the confusion between her and the others to grow even larger than before.

"Y-You're not really making any sense here, Boss… what are you talking about?" Leone said with a sheepish grin, unable to comprehend just what her reader was trying to say.

"Leone." Najenda said firmly, before turning to everyone else. "All of you. The sword that Tatsumi is holding right now… is actually a teigu."

Everyone's eyes slowly widened in shock, while Tatsumi only blinked in confusion. Of course, he knew what teigus are and the basic information about them, but he wasn't expecting this. This sword that he was holding… was a teigu? Isn't that too much of a coincidence to even happen? He _did_ just come across it inside a cave…

"Are you sure about that, Boss?" asked Akame.

Najenda crossed her arms and sighed. "Of course I am, Akame. It's written in books, actually. What Tatsumi is holding right now is one of the two lost teigus that are, in legend, impossible to find. Out of the 48 known teigus in this world, only two are still missing to this day and _that_ is one of them." she explained. "It is in legend that Tatsumi's teigu is the direct partner of Akame's _**Murasame**_ and it's stated that both share a fair mutual relationship of respect for the other that it is nearly impossible for the two to separate. If you notice, both are katanas which is one of the direct signs of the close relationships between two teigus."

All the eyes in the room were directed towards both Tatsumi and Akame, who in turn, looked at one another before their gazes flew to the other's swords.

"Close relationships between two teigus? Boss, that doesn't make any sense at all." Lubbock said. "You're making it sound like teigus are lovers or something…"

"That is not what I meant all." Najenda facepalmed. "I am simply pointing out that those two teigus over there share a bond, according to that legend. Well, since it has found its owner, it's not a legend anymore but reality. You will find out soon just what I am trying to explain here when you see the legend for yourself."

Tatsumi felt like he couldn't speak anymore due to everything that he was trying to absorb in his mind at the moment, which was extremely hard to do because new information just keeps on going out every second that his brain was crammed with too much pressure.

That was until he heard Akame's voice begin to speak.

"Does it have a name?" she asked, pointing towards Tatsumi's sword.

"Yes. According to books, it's name is _**Galaxy Manipulation: Starfall**_. It is the lost teigu that gives its user the ability to control and manipulate objects outside of our world."

* * *

 _ **I HAVE A RIDDLE FOR YOU GUYS!**_

 _ **Why is Tatsumi's teigu called Starfall?**_

 _ **Prize: Shoutout next chapter, chance to name an OC of their own choice.**_

 _ **1st hint: Tatsumi and the sword itself glows yellow when he flies while using it.**_

 _ **2nd hint: It has a direct meaning if you understood it correctly**_

 _ **3rd hint: Has something to do with space, of course.**_

 _ **Harem: Akame, Sayo, Leone, Sheele, Seryu, Chelsea**_

 _ **Possible: Esdeath**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture*

-Lance


	3. Kill the Intruders

_**Nice to see that many of you got the meaning of the name right! Unordinarily-Ordinary got it right, so you get to choose what OC name you want! (Ooze is not counted, we're friends that's why.) Either leave it in a review or PM me what name you want to use. For this chapter, Starfall's origins are further explained so I hope you'll get all of it for the future. With that said, let's get on with this chapter!**_

 _ **Guest #2: I know, right?**_

 _ **Guest #3: Nice suggestion. Counted.**_

 _ **Guest #4: Funny, cause Sess gave me permission to borrow some of his lines! And I have my own storyline fucker.**_

"Normal Talking"

" _Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters…**_

* * *

"What does that mean?" asked Leone as she frowned in confusion. She didn't really get what their leader said about controlling things outside their world because believing its literal meaning would be the same as crazy.

"I have no idea as well, Leone… I haven't seen Tatsumi fight with his teigu yet, but all of you had. However, I am not going to waste time in trying to find out what that katana can do. I'll see it for myself to find out more about it. Instead of asking around to try and find out about _**Starfall**_ , it's better if we get to see it while engaged in combat."

"Good point…" Leone mumbled, realizing the truth behind Najenda's words.

"C-Can I ask a question?" Tatsumi asked, raising his hand slightly to gain Najenda's attention.

"Of course, Tatsumi."

"If my sword is a teigu like what you said… how did it end up inside of a cave, then? From how I see it, there must be someone who used it before me and that person died inside the cave and his katana got buried under all the rubble that might be due to the whole place collapsing or something."

"That's impossible, Tatsumi…" the woman replied, shaking her head. "If someone used it before you, it would've been recorded in history. But since there is no record of someone being the original owner of your teigu, it can only mean that you are the first to become compatible and use it."

"I see… that makes a lot of sense, then." Tatsumi said, nodding.

"However, if what the legend says is true, then it totally makes sense for it to be found inside a cave."

"What do you mean by that, Boss?" asked Mine, wondering if whether theory from earlier was right all along.

"Prepare your ears for a bedtime story, then…" Najenda groaned, unable to comprehend that it was only her who knew about the legend surrounding Tatsumi's teigu. "Okay, we all know that during the reign of the First Emperor, there were a total of 48 different teigus created, two of which have gone missing. According to legend, one of these missing teigus was taken by an unnamed scientist for himself. That teigu was actually _**Starfall**_ , and he went into hiding immediately after he got what he wanted. It is said that Starfall's blade is made up of hundreds of meteorite fragments which came from a small asteroid that crashed into our planet over a hundred years ago, and its remains have been preserved over time. The scientist that took the sword for himself tried to further increase the blade's power by reforging it using more fragments than the amount which it was originally made with… it all took place after he had turned a normal cave into an underground lab for all his experiments. Unfortunately, his plan to increase _**Starfall's**_ power turned out to be a failed experiment because it was just too much power for a simple katana to handle."

"And what happened next?" asked Leone out of interest.

"Well to sum it all up, the sword sent out massive waves of radiation when it felt that it couldn't take the power anymore. The laboratory exploded and in turn, caused the cave to collapse which trapped the scientist inside and possibly killed him due to the lack of air and because he was trapped with no way out. The sword however, was unharmed and it's said that it only got stronger through the years because of all the meteorite fragments that it absorbed. It must be stabilized now because it chose Tatsumi as its owner."

"That explains how I found this thing inside that cave then… but what were you saying about being the direct partner of Akame's _**Murasame**_ or something?" Tatsumi asked as he sneaked a glance at the red-eyed assassin inside the room.

"After the meteor strikes, the rain comes in to sweep up the mess." Najenda simply replied with a smirk. "It's part of the story behind _**Starfall**_ and that's what I am trying to say. It's up to you to figure out the meaning behind it."

The Boss's riddle-like sentence had all the members of Night Raid confused for almost a minute, before both Tatsumi and Lubbock managed to figure it out, but the latter was the one who spoke about it.

"Wait, you mean that those two —?!" he exclaimed and without even letting the green-haired teenager to finish his sentence, she knew where his mind was going and nodded in agreement.

"What? What is it? Did you figure it out?" Mine asked, clearly stumped with what she was trying to find out. And it was not only her. Leone, Akame, Sheele, and Bulat were all waiting for the answer.

Lubbock turned his attention to his fellow Night Raid members and cleared his throat.

"It's not really hard to figure it out, really. First of all, _**Murasame**_ literally means 'the coming of rain' or 'rainy season'. _**Starfall**_ is another nickname to describe a falling star, or a meteor. If you notice, its name is just the interchanged positions of 'falling' and 'star'. It makes perfect sense if you think about it. And if you incorporate those two names with what Najenda-san is trying to tell us about —"

"Tatsumi's _**Starfall**_ is supposed to strike an enemy first with its superior advantage in speed for a quick kill before _**Murasame**_ comes into play and finishes off all enemies who have managed to dodge at the last second when they are distracted." Najenda finished for him. "In other words, if those two teigus work together, they are most likely impossible to beat unless the opponent is another teigu user. What's more, the bond between those two swords can even reach the point where one can't kill the other using their weapon. In this case, there could be a time when Tatsumi will not be affected by _**Murasame's**_ poison and Akame will not be killed or injured whatsoever by _**Starfall**_. Proof of this can be seen when the kid wounded Akame with his weapon since they didn't really know each other."

"Oh, now I get it!" Leone exclaimed with a teasing grin as she looked at the two people that were mentioned by the Boss. "So, it was fate that decided that you two will meet last night?" she teased.

"As if! I was only following my instincts that time!" Tatsumi said with a crimson blush, while Akame simply looked down in embarrassment.

"Oho? So you didn't hurt Akame on purpose just to cop a feel? Maybe I could have you cut me with that sword of yours so you'll heal me too! How does that sound, Tatsumi? Sounds good?"

Tatsumi couldn't respond as his head was kept low due to the obvious embarrassment that he felt at her words, while a small stream of blood could be faintly seen just below his nose.

"That's enough, Leone." Najenda said firmly, causing the girl to shut up in her place before the Boss turned towards Tatsumi. "Forgive me Tatsumi, but I want to hear an answer from you right now. Would you like to join Night Raid?" The boss noticed Tatsumi's hesitation and surprise at her sudden question, and she let a small smile appear on her face in a small effort to try and calm him down. "You won't be killed if you decline. However, if you want to stay here, we'll just make you work in our workshop so you'll stay away from all the violence."

He looked around him, before turning his attention back to the floor. It took a more than a few seconds, but then Tatsumi was finally ready to give his answer, having thought about it while he was on the way to the meeting room.

"I… originally planned to come to the capital and find decent work to earn money to save my village, which is in poverty at the moment…" Tatsumi said, unconsciously clenching his fist. "But even the imperial capital is rotten to its core, it can't be trusted even if I earn money to save up every month…" Tatsumi sighed and hung his head. "And as long as Sayo hasn't wake up yet, I can't just leave her here… so… yes… I'll join Night Raid!"

"That's great to hear!" Bulat exclaimed with a bright smile. "The countryside is in a horrible state because of its rotten roots here. Now you'll be able to cut off those roots, as a man!"

"Night Raid is a perfect fit for someone of your skills, Tatsumi." The Boss said, causing Tatsumi to quirk an eyebrow. "But before anything, you must know about this. Far to the south of the capital, lies the hideout of an anti-empire fighting force, the Revolutionary Army."

"The Revolutionary Army?" the brunette repeated as his eyes slowly widened.

"They started out small, but eventually grew rapidly over time." Najenda explained, pointing to a map on the wall next to her. "They, inevitably, needed a special unit to carry out covert operations that they couldn't perform. That eventually led to the creation of us, Night Raid." The Boss gestured to the several Night Raid banners around the room. "Right now, we're focused in eliminating the worms lurking in the capital… but if the army ever attacks, we'll utilize the mass confusion and kill the Prime Minister while he is left unguarded." The woman tightly clenched her metallic fist. "That old man has been our main target for a long time and even if there are others who support him frm behind the scenes, they are to be dealt with for another time. Although I can't give any specifics on when the Revolutionary Army will make their move, I can guarantee you that we do have a plan to win the moment they do. And with our victory, this country can finally start a new beginning."

"This new country, will it treat people well?" Tatsumi asked, locking eyes with Najenda.

"Of course it will. This nation has seen enough violence and blood for it to be under conflict once again. Think about the children as well…" she replied, nodding.

 _"A country where my village won't be a victim to poverty anymore. A nation where Sayo and I won't have to worry about fighting for survival, because we already have what we need…_ " Tatsumi thought as he stared at the ground. _"That sounds like something worth fighting for. And… I don't really have any idea about it, but I feel like I know that once Sayo wakes up, she'll want to help form this new country. But if she doesn't want to, then I guess I can just protect her as an assassin just to prevent her from getting involved with this."_

"I understand…" Tatsumi said, raising his head before he looked at the all the Night Raid members that were surrounding him. "The killing that you're doing right now is dedicated in taking out the filth that litters the capital… you're all assassins for a good cause… you all have your own reasons for fighting…" he clenched his fist close to his chest. "I want to fight too so I can help rid this country of the demons that inhabit it… I want to make a nation where my home village isn't suffering because of other people's corruption and sins. I also want my friends to live peacefully and with nothing else bothering them. But…" Tatsumi then turned his attention back to the white-haired woman. "I will get paid for what I do, right? I still need to send money to my village in the meantime."

"Of course." Najenda replied with a small smirk. "If you work diligently, you'll be able to save your village from poverty, then." she leaned back in her seat, as she stared at Tatsumi. _"I'm starting to really like this kid… he has so much potential to be better."_ she said in her thoughts.

"Then like I said earlier, count me in!" Tatsumi exclaimed with a determined look in his eyes,catching some of the members off guard with his exclamation. "Ieyasu definitely would have fought for a goal this big! That little pervert loved to sream big! Once Sayo wakes up, I'm going to convince her to work with us as well!"

"You might never be able to return to your village again." Mine pointed out, placing her hands on her hips. "Think about the consequences before making any big decisions, don't you know that?"

"That's fine with me." Tatsumi said, not even turning to face the girl. "I swore to help them, but I never said anything about needing to return. As long as the people in my village are happy and safe, I'm okay with that."

"Hmph…" Mine huffed, crossing her arms over her chest, although there was a blush that spread throughout her face all of a sudden.

"It's decided then." the Boss said, as she extended her hand towards Tatsumi. "Welcome to our hellish path, Tatsumi."

Tatsumi didn't hesitate to return the handshake afterwards.

As soon as she saw the brunette finally agreeing to join their group, Leone felt like she was complete and smiled widely. "Then it's settled. You're our new member, Tatsumi! Maybe you can teach Akame how to fight, hmm? After all, you two are supposed to be _partners_ …" Leone said, teasing her red-eyed friend.

"Akame is a fine warrior. I have nothing to teach her… she was just caught off guard with the way I fight. If we fought again, she could very much beat me with her new knowledge… her blade could kill me with a single cut, anyway." Tatsumi said, praising Akame.

"You would be hard to kill in a blade fight, Tatsumi. Your speed is unmatchable and you could fly using your sword after all." Akame said with a small blush, praising him in return.

"T-Thanks…" he muttered, somehow feeling both embarrassment and happiness after hearing Akame's words.

"Boss, can I ask about that other lost teigu besides Tatsumi's? You said that there were two missing teigus that remain unfound until today; one is _**Starfall**_ , but what about the other one?" Bulat asked, curiously with a slight frown.

Najenda widened her eyes for a brief second before she looked over to the side, looking troubled. For some reason, when Bulat brought that particular topic up, the Boss seemed to be hesitant to even respond, despite having to mention it earlier. "It's better for all of you if you never know about it." she simply answered, which managed to attain everybody's attention instead of losing it.

"What do you mean uhm, Boss?" Tatsumi asked, remembering that he was now officially a part of Night Raid.

However, before Najenda could even answer, a loud grinding sound was heard. Lubbock's eyes widened, as the wires extending from the device on top of his hand began to twitch.

"Najenda-san! We've got intruders incoming!" Lubbock exclaimed, earning a light sigh from their leader.

"How many are they?" she asked, resting her head on her hand.

"Hmm, according to my barrier wires, about eight people at least!" Lubbock replied, using his vast array of wires to find out where the infiltrators were. "They've all gotten really close to our hideout… any second now, they could step foot in here!"

"They must be pretty good if they managed to sniff out our hideout." Najenda said, as she pulled out a pack of cigarettes. "They must be a band of mercenaries from one of the tribal groups around here… just what I'd expect from those animals." The silver-haired woman sighed before lighting her cigarette. "There's no other choice. This is an emergency operation. They must not find out the location of our secret base. Don't let a single one of them escape alive."

 _"T-The atmosphere just changed suddenly… is this what it's like every time they have to defend this place?"_ Tatsumi thought, as the room suddenly got filled with an overwhelming sense of bloodlust.

"Tatsumi! This will be your first battle as a member of Night Raid. There are intruders who can step foot into our hideout, and that's something that we _don't_ want to happen, do we? I want you to go out there and take them all out however you see fit, and don't let any man live." Najenda ordered.

"H-Huh?" Tatsumi stuttered out, feeling as if he wasn't ready for this.

"Oi! Don't be spacing out on me Tatsumi!" the Boss shouted, smacking him in the head. Tatsumi grabbed the top of his head in pain, before he turned around to see Najenda grinning at him. "This is your first real battle as a member of our group, so show me what you're made of! Prove to me that you've got what it takes to really be a member of Night Raid! Don't take for granted the faith I put in you, kid!"

"Oh, yeah! You can definitely count on me!" Tatsumi yelled with fire in his eyes, sheathing his sword as he took off. _"I need to make a quick stop at the clinic and check up on Sayo! The last thing I need right now is if someone creeps up there and attacks her all of a sudden!"_

"I like him…" Leone said, licking her lips in satisfaction as everyone turned their attention towards her. "He has a heart of gold, kind, hardworking, and he's willing to sacrifice his life for his friends… plus, I totally liked the way how he fought Bulat earlier… especially that _hot_ body of his…" she whispered in the end.

"I agree," Sheele said, speaking for the first time in minutes. "Tatsumi is a good person despite having to go through a terrible childhood like Akame did… I hope I can be good friends with him like I did with all of you."

"I'm pretty sure you want more than _just be friends with him_ , Sheele…" Leone said as she patted the purple-haired woman on the back, and Sheele only made a confused sound as a response.

"Seriously, Leone? He's just a newbie and he just wanted to show off earlier… besides, Bulat didn't even fight back, so it wasn't fair. We'll see just what he can really do in a real battle." Mine told her off.

"Are you denying the fact that you were literally _steaming hot_ while Tatsumi was all shirtless earlier?" she teased, causing Mine's cheeks to heat up out of embarrassment. "Seems to me that this is just a way for you to stay innocent, Mine."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about, Leone!" she quickly said before she headed for the direction where Tatsumi just went to. "Anyway, don't you think we should go and keep an eye on him? He might need our help since he's just a newbie…"

"So you do want to see him shirtless again!" Leone continued as her, Sheele, and Bulat followed the pink-haired sniper. "I don't know about you Mine, but I'm not gonna let anybody get to him first before me! I was barely able to contain myself while he was asleep!" she bragged.

"That's basically rape, Leone! Learn to respect somebody else while they're sleeping!"

"Oh, now you're defending him? I was right all along, wasn't I?"

"Shut up!"

Their bickering continued even as they passed through the hallways, with Leone teasing Mine for her possible attraction towards Tatsumi while two of their friends were listening to them as if they were watching a soap opera.

Akame was the only one left inside the meeting room, apart from Lubbock who was with the Boss, continuing to keep track of his wires that were set all around the hideout.

The raven-haired assassin had her head low, with her hair covering her eyes as she thought about Tatsumi.

" _Tatsumi… this boy… how can he stay happy and optimistic despite everything that he went through? We almost had the same childhood to go through, and it turned me into the emotionless assassin I am right now. But him… he went through a path even worse than what I had to take, and yet he can still smile like a normal person as if nothing happened. Could it be that he's only pretending to be happy and he's hiding sadness inside him? No, that would be wrong of me to assume such a thing."_

She unconsciously clenched her fists and slowly walked towards the direction where her friends and Tatsumi just went to.

" _I need to know more about him. Perhaps… he's the one who can help me overcome my past. Maybe with his help, I can finally let go of that part of my own being which I dread above all… and… I want to be closer to him. It feels like I am happier and calmer than normal when he's beside me… what is this feeling?"_

"Seems that they have all taken a liking to Tatsumi this early…" Najenda remarked after seeing Akame finally leave the room. "Although, I'm not really surprised… the boy's one of a kind."

"Even Bulat?" Lubbock joked. "Yeah, no kidding… Leone's pretty open with her _huge_ crush on him and she's determined to have him to herself. Mine is sticking to her old attitude even though the signs are clear. Sheele? I don't know what's going on inside her empty head, but I think it's possible that the seeds have been planted. Akame… well, she's different than any of them."

"What about Akame?" the Boss raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Well, unlike Mine or Leone who were both lured by appearance and Tatsumi's self at the moment, Akame looks like she wants to get to know him more, while also unaware that she's slowly getting attracted to him as well."

"So basically, her reasons are deeper…" the woman concluded before she sighed. "I understand, though… Tatsumi is the only one out of all of us who can possibly understand what she went through during her childhood and how she turned to the woman that she is today. Hopefully, he can be a good influence to Akame and be a wall for her to lean on. He's been through worse than her, so I think those two will help and grow closer to each other before we can even catch on to them."

"You sound like you want them to get together," Lubbock teased, causing the woman to shrug.

"I only want what's best for the members, and if Tatsumi can somehow help Akame overcome her inner demons, then I'm all for it even if they become a couple. Well, as long as their assassin work is unaffected by their escapades." she added.

"You do know that Leone is going to try and insert herself into their relationship, right? She won't care even if as a second girlfriend or even a mistress. And Mine is not gonna give up so easily when it comes to things that she wants."

Najenda smirked. "Tatsumi can have a damn harem if he wants to. As the leader of this group, I'll be happy for him. I only ask that they don't become too distracted by acting lovey-dovey on each other."

"Geez, now I'm jealous… he's only a newcomer, but he's getting all the attention all of a sudden. Makes me wish that —" he stopped himself from speaking upon seeing the glare on Najenda's face. "Oh, don't be like that. We both know that I'm not changing anytime soon… I'm still the perverted tactician you all know and love.".

She chuckled lightly. "That's right. Because if I ever hear that you've made a move on another girl, you'll get a serious spanking from this killer arm." she said, raising her right bionic arm before clenching its fist.

"No need to remind me…" he gulped out of nervousness. "C'mere." he said before walking towards his leader and kissed her on the cheek.

* * *

Tatsumi quickly entered the clinic where his dear childhood friend was recovering, the serious expression on his face evaporating as he entered the tent. A full blown smile however, appeared when he spotted Sayo sitting up, drinking some juice. She put it down almost immediately after seeing her best friend (and secret crush) come inside and flashed a wide smile.

"Tatsumi!" Sayo yelled out, smiling brightly at the boy.

"Sayo, you're awake!" Tatsumi yelled out, rushing over to embrace his dear friend.

"Tatsumi… I just knew you'd come that night… thank you so much for saving me. I don't know what could've happened to me if you didn't come." Sayo said.

"Of course, I can't let you die… you're too important to me, Sayo. But what matters right now is that you're awake, so don't worry about any stupid family torturing you anymore. But it wasn't just me who came to help you… I had some help too…"

"Still, thank you for saving me." Sayo replied, feeling a few tears of joy escape her eyes. It was then her ears suddenly picked up a strange noise that she had to pull away from their embrace as she turned her head to the direction where she heard the sound. "Tatsumi… you hear that? They're coming from the forest…"

"Pesky intruders. Don't worry, I'll handle it. I'll be right back." Tatsumi said while narrowing his eyes, turning around before he headed for the door. He had his jacket on, but he still had no undershirt beneath it.

"Tatsumi, where are we?" Sayo asked, a bit worried that somebody might have taken her again and would torture her for hours just like with Aria.

"I'll explain everything when I return, I promise. For now, just rest in that bed because we have lot to talk about later on."

"Please be careful, Tatsumi… I don't know if I could take it if I find out that you got killed." Sayo said. Tatsumi only smiled and gave her a thumbs-up in response.

"Of course." he said before he took off.

* * *

As soon as he left the clinic, Tatsumi dashed towards the forest and began to navigate his way through the vast landscape by jumping from tree to tree, branch to branch. When he finally found a tree large enough for reconaissance, he brought out _**Stardust**_ and scanned his surroundings for the intruders; being trained on how to survive in the wild, all of his senses were stronger than that of a normal human's.

" _About nine of them…"_ he thought after hearing several footsteps not too far in the distance. " _Since we're in broadlight, I'll have to avoid open contact and make silent kills… good thing that this baby can do just that and be fast at the same time then."_ he looked at his teigu and held it tight in his hand before he noticed that three of them were just under the tree where he was positioned. " _So they got split into groups… I must be quick if I want to catch on to the next ones."_

After sheathing his weapon temporarily, he jumped down on the ground quietly and quickly walked over behind the third one. " _One."_ With speed that would make a ninja jealous, he trapped the intruder in a choke hold and immediately applied pressure on it that the man lost his consciousness in only a few seconds. Tatsumi had him lay on the ground quietly afterwards so he could focus on the remaining ones.

" _Two."_ The brunette brought out his knife and grabbed his second victim by his nape before he plunged the sharp end of his blade into the intruder's neck, killing him instantly. However, the blood that spurted out from him caught the attention of the last one.

"Hey!" he shouted upon seeing Tatsumi kill his companion. However, before he could even make a reaction, the young man rushed over to him.

" _Three."_ The young man hit a stiff kick to his opponent's right shin, causing him to fall down to one knee. Just like what he had done to Bulat earlier on, Tatsumi ran forward and delivered a soccerball kick to the man's chest before he quickly stabbed his knife into his heart, ending the intruder's life so quick that the poor guy didn't even know what hit him.

" _The first group has been eliminated. Time for the next— wait, there's one short. Oh yeah…"_ He turned his attention to the one that he choked into unconsciousness earlier and quietly walked towards him, his knife still tight in his grasp.

He knelt down and was prepared to end the man's life as well, until he heard some voices in front of him.

"Look over there! A kid!"

"It ain't just a kid. He killed three of our men!"

"Think he's with Night Raid?"

"Who the fuck cares? Let's kill him and continue on searching for their damn hideout!"

" _Time to fly."_ Tatsumi pulled out _**Stardust**_ as he narrowed his eyes at his three new enemies. Yellow light wrapped around his whole body as he dashed towards the men in front of him, cutting through them with a single slash so quick that Tatsumi was already behind the third one in less than a few seconds with a vicious glare on his face.

"W-What did that kid just do?"

"I don't… know… but I don't feel good…"

"Me… neither…"

All of them fell to the ground, bisected through their midsection as blood spurted out into the grass and some of it even got to the boy's clothes.

" _Three to go. And just in the nick of time."_ he thought in his mind, seeing the last batch of intruders charging towards him. Holding his sword tightly in his right hand, he charged towards them normally. " _No need for me to show off… let's do this the old-fashioned way."_

* * *

Unknown to the brunette, Akame, Leone, Mine, Sheele, and Bulat were all watching the action. All of them except for Leone and Akame were all surprised at how well Tatsumi performed. They all watched through the last part of the ongoing fight as their eyes were all locked on Tatsumi, who could compare to Akame in terms of abilities even though this was just his first battle as a member.

"You're dead, kid!" one of the intruders yelled as he tried to slash through Tatsumi downwards, which got blocked easily by the boy before he sidestepped and a knee strike towards the man's gut that made him kneel over in pain.

"I have other plans for today," Tatsumi mocked back before kicking him in his stomach that sent the intruder rolling all over the ground screaming. Sensing that someone was right behind him, Tatsumi ducked under a horizontal slash and rolled backwards immediately. While the enemy was distracted, the young man dropped his sword momentarily and stood back up as he delivered an elbow to the back of the intruder's neck, dropping him on the ground before Tatsumi finished him off with his knife.

" _Two to go."_ he thought triumphantly before he got pushed to the side that he was now lying on his back. Focusing his gaze on whoever it was, he saw the third intruder about to stab him in the chest but Tatsumi had quicker reactions. He grabbed the man's attacking arm and rolled over the ground, bringing along his enemy with him before he locked him inside an arm hold.

"P-Please! Mercy!" the man pleaded for Tatsumi to let go of his right arm, but Tatsumi only smirked before he snapped it to the opposite direction, completely breaking the poor intruder's arm as he let go.

He screamed out in pain while clutching his arm as he rolled all over the ground, which allowed Tatsumi to retrieve _**Starfall**_ , before killing the man by stabbing his sword into his enemy's chest, ending his misery.

" _One left."_ he said to himself, standing up before he turned his attention to the intruder that he had kicked in the stomach earlier, glaring at the last one who started to back away out of fear since he just got manhandled by a teenager in only two attacks just earlier. After only a few seconds, fear had overtook the man and started to run away deep into the forest in fear for his life.

Unfortunately, he wasn't paying any attention at all in front of because he was looking behind in an attempt to see if Tatsumi would try and follow him. When he ran into a sharp edge that pierced his stomach, he turned back in front of him to see the brunette with his knife in hand, before plunging it deeper into the man's abdomen.

He screamed out in pain and slapped Tatsumi's hand away before he pulled out the knife itself, only to have more blood spurt out of his stomach.

Tatsumi shook his head as if he was disappointed. "One of the important rules in medical treat ment these days… never the pull the knife or bullet out, it will just increase the blood you lose. You'll die quicker and it would be harder to save you."

"Fuck you, you little shit!" the man spat out and tried to swing the small blade towards the boy, who only dodged and elbowed his enemy behind the neck before using his right knee to send the intruder down on the ground with a resounding hit, blood oozing out all around his body. The intruder gave a last twitch, and was still.

" _It's done."_ the young brunette said to himself before he picked up his knife from the lifeless man. " _Time to get back…"_ he started to walk back towards the hideout when he saw the first man whom he had attacked earlier (who was only unconscious), start to wake up and clutch his head in pain.

He sighed to himself before pulling out his sword one more time and ran towards his target, his right arm stretched out. With one swift swipe, Tatsumi laid out his final attack. And before the man even knew it, Tatsumi was already in front of him, continuing on his walk back to the base as he placed _**Stardust**_ back in its sheath.

Only a few seconds later, the man was beheaded.

* * *

As he walked back inside the hideout, Tatsumi was greeted back by Akame, Leone, Sheele, and Mine. Three of them were smiling at him and only the pink-haired sniper had a cute pout on her face whilst also blushing. Apparently, Bulat had went on to inform Najenda of Tatsumi's completion of the assignment given to him and only the females got left behind to greet the newcomer back.

"You go, Tatsumi!" Leone cheered on with a huge grin. "You looked so cool out there! I think you have what it takes to beat Akame for the title of 'Strongest Assassin' around here…" she added before laughing heartily at her own remark.

"Yes, you did well out there." Sheele said, nodding. "And now, I think I understand what your teigu is capable of… looks like the Boss was right about placing her trust in you, Tatsumi. I think you'll be a very strong assassin someday."

"Tch, not bad for a newbie…" Mine said, looking to the side to avoid Tatsumi's gaze. "A miracle to see you still in one piece… would've been another waste if you had to go so early… well, you did survive against Akame, so I guess I can keep an eye on you to see if you'll slip up or anything."

"If you were worried about me, there's no need to be indirect about it, Mine." Tatsumi replied.

"W-WHAT?!" she exclaimed in surprise, only to see Tatsumi smiling innocently at her while Leone was laughing at the young man's clever response.

She didn't expect Tatsumi to answer her back, which caused Mine to hang her head low as she left the scene, unable to come up with an answer. She couldn't even try and hit him across the face, more like she didn't _want_ to and besides, it would only give away the fact that she was slowly getting attracted to the brunette.

"I'll just go ahead then… everything seems to be okay here… good job, by the way…" she muttered, her face reddening to the point that it was the same color as Akame's eyes.

"I'll go with her," Sheele said, walking over to catch up to her pink-haired friend, comforting Mine for whatever topic that seemed to be bothering her.

"I'll go on ahead too… I'll see you later, _Tatsumi_ …" the blonde woman whispered in a sultry voice that got the brunette to blush in embarrassment before Leone burst out into laughter as she left with Mine and Sheele. " _I may not like the idea of someone going first than me, but Akame needs you more than I do, Tatsumi."_ she thought to herself.

Akame was the only one left with Tatsumi before she began to speak. "Well done, Tatsumi. We were watching the whole fight unfold from a distance, and I admit… you're at a level that is comparable to Lubbock, Mine and Sheele. At first, we thought you would need our help in fighting because we have never seen you fight, but we were wrong." she praised while smiling, causing his eyes to widen slightly at her words. It was already a known fact to everyone else in Night Raid that Akame was emotionless most of the time, so this was a surprising sight to see. "Now, come on. Time for the Boss to listen what she has to say about you." she turned around and was about to walk away, but Tatsumi had a firm grip on her arm, causing her to turn her head back to face him.

"Akame, I am not that really good in wielding a sword since I've been mostly trained in hand-to-hand combat instead during my childhood… and from what I see, you're one of the strongest people I've known and probably the only one around here who uses a sword like I do, so what I'm trying to say is —"

"You want me to train you?" she finished for him.

Tatsumi nodded.

"Are you sure? Is there even a need for that? I know what it looks like when a person is already skilled enough as it is, and like I said earlier, you're comparable to three of our members in terms of fighting. And to add to that, you'll likely train with all of us."

"Yeah, but… I'm not perfect, right? None of us are. It's best if I continue training instead of just sitting around with nothing to do all day. Besides, the Boss told us that our teigus were partners, remember? Not that I'm believing in fairy tale-like story, but I think that we should learn more from each other because we're on the same team here, all of us. Let's just say that I want you to personally train me."

"Good point." she said, nodding her head before her hand rested just below her chin. "I think the Boss would have no problem if you want me to train you, but I will only come to terms with it if you train me as well."

"What?"

"I want you to train me in the fighting style that you incorporate in your attacks. Earlier, when I was watching you, I was thinking it over before I made the decision to have you teach it to me. It would give me a better way to defend myself during combat in case I lose _**Murasame**_ or get disarmed in the middle of a fight. The way you use your elbows and knees to attack an enemy brutally is unique and I am curious to know more about it."

"It's actually called Strong Style…" he said with a sweat-drop. "But, are you sure about that? I know I said it's better to learn from each other, but it would seem pretty awkward to you because you're talented enough that you don't need another way to fight. And if you really want to learn Strong Style, the training required for it is way pushed beyond what a normal human does. It's both dangerous and painful to the attacker as it is to the target."

"I am sure." she nodded with no hesitation. " _Why is my heart beating so fast?"_

" _Jeez, it's either this girl didn't listen to me at all or she doesn't give a damn at all…"_ he thought to himself before he outstretched his right hand for her to shake. "Then we have an agreement, Akame! You train me in how to use a sword better while I train you on how to be a Strong Style fighter. Deal?"

"Deal." she replied, accepting the handshake.

It lasted for a few seconds before they realized that they had been staring into each other's eyes even though their handshake was over. Tatsumi looked quite embarrassed while Akame just had a blank look on her face as he turned to the direction where the clinic was located.

"Okay, I'll talk to you later then. I need to check up on Sayo and see if she's okay." he finished, trying to continue on his way before he realized that it was now Akame who had a firm grip on his arm. Realizing that he might be needing help with something, he stopped and simply looked at her. "Is there something else you want to talk about?"

Akame didn't want to look weak or emotional in front of someone she didn't know quite well, but she couldn't stop herself from breaking down into an expression of defeat and doubt, causing Tatsumi to frown in confusion since she wasn't supposed to be like this.

"Can I talk to you tonight? It's about something sensitive of a topic to be discussed over the dinner table or even here, but if you don't want to, it's fine."

"Sure, I can talk with you tonight." he replied with a smile. "Where do you want to have this talk?"

"I'm fine with your room. I'll go there after dinner later on and then we can talk. Does that sound fine with you?"

"Yeah." he finished before he grabbed Akame's hand and got her to let go of him since her grip loosened for some odd reason. "You go on ahead and talk to the Boss then. I'll check on Sayo. I look forward to training with you, Akame!" he exclaimed before running off, leaving the red-eyed girl in her place.

" _How can he smile so innocently despite everything he has been through?"_ she thought, watching him for a few seconds before she headed for the direction of the meeting room. " _It doesn't make sense at all… never mind, I will find out tonight… for now, I will just be glad that somebody wanted to train under me just like how I wanted to train under him."_

Although the reason is unknown for some reason, Akame of the Demon Sword Murasame is crazy possessive, especially to what she think is _hers_.

* * *

Tatsumi went back to the clinic where Sayo was, smiling when he saw her looking at the window with a look of concern on her face. He knocked on the door to get her attention, and she turned her attention towards him.

"Tatsumi! H-How did it go? Are you hurt in any way?" she asked, scanning his whole body for any possible injuries as he walked closer.

He shook his head. "Jeez, I'm fine Sayo… I just had to take care of some intruders. Were you worried about me?" he teased afterwards.

"Of course I was, jackass! Can't you take this seriously?!" she shouted with a tick mark appearing on her forehead.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry…" he apologized, raising up his arms in defeat before he heard her sigh.

A few moments of silence erupted between them before the girl on the bed spoke once again. "Tatsumi, when you said 'take care of'… what did you mean by that?" she asked with a slight frown.

"I killed them, Sayo. They are not allowed to learn about this place because I'd say it's top secret." he shrugged.

"Base? Tatsumi, where are we? I'm so confused right now… more importantly, where's Ieyasu?"

"We're in the hideout of the Revolutionary Army's Special Forces Division, Night Raid. This place you're in right now is the medbay."

"Alright… so, who's Night Raid?" she asked in confusion.

"A bunch of assassins," Najenda spoke as she entered the place with Leone and Akame behind her. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sayo. Tatsumi has been worried sick over you ever since they brought you here."

Sayo blushed at hearing the silver-haired woman's last sentence before she shook her head to recompose herself. "Assassins? Tatsumi, what the hell is going on?" she turned to her childhood friend with a confused expression.

"This is the leader of the Night Raid, Sayo." the brunette thumbed over towards Najenda. "I've joined them as a new member just earlier."

"W-Why?" She couldn't understand why he would want to go join a group of people who only wanted to kill others, but she had to know more about it first.

"To get rid of the Empire, of course… along with all the scum who work for it and the corruption that they bring everywhere." he replied, his voice taking a serious turn.

"Okay," she sighed. At least the Tatsumi she knew was still there, and he wasn't really killing people for no apparent reason. "What happened to the family?"

"Dead." he replied bluntly. "I personally killed the little girl who tortured you, by the way."

"Oh, I see…" she said, looking down. Although her friend just said that he joined an assassin group, she couldn't help but feel down at the thought of having the young man kill for her sake. "I'm sorry, Tatsumi."

He sighed. "Don't apologize, Sayo. It should be me who should say sorry for not finding the both of you sooner."

"No, don't. It wasn't your fault, it was that family who did this to us." She then flashed a bright smile. "Besides, if it wasn't for you, I would be dead right now. So thank you, Tatsumi. Thank you as well, Night Raid." she turned to Najenda and the two other girls behind her.

"It was no trouble. Tatsumi said that you would be a great addition to our team." the Boss said, causing the girl's eyes to widen slightly.

"He said that? Tatsumi, I've never really killed anyone before." she said, turning towards the brunette who only smirked in return.

"You've killed some bandits before, Sayo." he reminded.

"Yeah, but they were trying to kill me! I had no choice!" she retorted, throwing a frying pan towards his face that she pulled out of nowhere, which got the three Night Raid women behind him to stifle back a chuckle.

After rubbing his aching face for a few seconds, he spoke again after sighing. "Well, it's different this time. We're going to kill those who bring evil to this country, that's a major difference. But only if you want to be, we won't force you."

Sayo could have sworn that she saw a look of angst on his face for a brief second, leading her to a possible hypothesis. "You aren't happy doing this job, are you Tatsumi?" she asked out of concern.

"We both know that I will never be fine having to take a life, Sayo. Ever since we were little kids. But it's the way I was raised… kill or be killed, as what they say back in the training camp and with the other kids. However, it does feel good to end the lives of those who have done worse than killing… like the girl."

"I see… well, even though I'm not entirely agreeing with this plan of action, I can't leave an idiot like you behind. I'll join Night Raid too! I'm an awesome sniper!" she teased him at the beginning, before she showed off her bow next to her under the blanket.

"Mine would love to challenge you for that title, Sayo." Leone laughed out, clutching her stomach in the process.

"It's good to have you in our group, Sayo." Akame said with a small smile, nodding. "I hope we get along well."

Sayo's eyes widened slightly in realization. "Tatsumi… are you… with these girls?" she guessed.

Tatsumi's face immediately turned red. "W-What?! No! Don't be absurd! How can you say something like that when I only joined just about an hour ago?!"

The black-haired girl on the bed gave him a sinister grin, showing that she was just teasing him. Tatsumi only growled in response, a tick mark appearing on his head in annoyance.

"So, you _are_ feeling better…" he snarled out.

"Well, yeah! I'm not a weakling like you!" she said, moving her legs to the side of the bed before she quickly stood up. Tatsumi had to catch her when she almost tripped on her own foot, her legs still feeling a little wobbly.

"Take it easy, Sayo… you could rest for another day in bed before trying to stand up again." he said, completely forgetting his initial anger earlier.

"I'm fine, Tatsumi! Jeez, I just have to get used to walking again!" she huffed, leaning against him for support.

"Alright Tatsumi, we'll be heading back to the main room." Najenda said as she turned on her heel. "We'll let you take care of Sayo. You should take her to the kitchen first so she could eat something before you two head on to join us. And welcome to Night Raid, Sayo." she finished with a smile as her, Leone, and Akame left for the main building.

"Did that woman just have a robotic arm?" Sayo asked, her eyes widening slightly.

" _That's not the only weird thing you'll see around here…"_ the brunette thought to himself.

* * *

 **(That Night; Night Raid's Base)**

Akame, dressed in pink pajamas, looked over both sides repeatedly to make sure that nobody would see her as she walked through the dark halls, in search of Tatsumi's room.

While they were making dinner, the two agreed to adjust the time of their secret meeting and have it take place after everyone was asleep, just to make sure that nobody would eavesdrop. Especially Leone. Although Tatsumi tends to fall asleep quite easily, he did promise to stay awake for Akame because she looked determined just to have a talk with him.

Finally reaching the door to his room, she looked around her one more time before knocking gently on the door. When she got no answer after a few seconds, she tried opening it and she was surprised to see that it wasn't locked at all.

After making her way inside, she saw Tatsumi sitting on the bed with the lamp turned on at the small drawer beside it.

"Took you long enough." Tatsumi smirked, before he scooted to the side to give her space. "Let's make this quick since we have training early in the morning tomorrow, right?"

Akame smiled slightly as she walked towards the bed, apparently he knew of her daily routine even without having someone to tell him.

As she sat there, she was looking directly at the door and Tatsumi was waiting for her to say something. For some reason, now that she got what she wanted, she suddenly felt nervous. Akame didn't like to share her past with others, much less people whom she barely knew. But, from what she saw in him during the few hours that they have spent together, he was someone that she could place her trust in. He was strong, calm and composed in his state of mind, selfless, kind and understanding. Plus, he did want to train under her even though he was already skilled.

That was a huge sacrifice when it comes to pride.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Tatsumi asked, trying to start a conversation with the red-eyed assassin because this was starting to become rather awkward with nobody talking.

 _ **Starfall**_ had a connection to _**Murasame**_ , after all.

Akame took a deep breath, looked at the boy beside her, and began to speak.

* * *

 _ **CLIFFHANGER! I'm evil, right?! Mwahahahahaha!**_

 _ **Next chapter will have the talk between the two soon-to-be lovers and a few other surprises.**_

 _ **Yep, Lubbock and Najenda are a secret couple! Hahahahaha!**_

 _ **I hope you all get the connection between Starfall and Murasame. But in case you didn't get it, then go read through it again. It's important for you guys to know the connection between the two for the sake of the plot.**_

 _ **Reason why I added Seryu to the harem is because a new character will be joining the Jaegers in her place and will be using the last teigu, which is the one that was lost alongside Tatsumi's Starfall. This teigu is very powerful and the character that will be using it has a few surprises up his sleeve. I wont tell the name of the teigu, but I will tell you its ability: Fire Manipulation.**_

 _ **Harem: Akame, Sayo, Leone, Sheele, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	4. Kill the Mistrust

_**Little note: More info on Tatsumi's Starfall is at the end of this chapter. ENJOY!**_

 _ **Guest: You started it.**_

"Normal Talking"

"Thoughts"

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters…**_

* * *

"Tatsumi, before anything else, will you promise me not to speak of this meeting between us to anyone? Including Leone and everyone else here in Night Raid." the girl asked in a serious tone, causing Tatsumi's eyes to widen slightly.

" _She seems pretty serious… I wonder what's going on…"_ he thought to himself. "Why? Is it something too personal for you that you don't want anyone else to know?" he tried asking.

"You will find out why. I only ask that you stay quiet about this, Tatsumi." the pleading look on her face got the brunette to slowly nod in return, unable to say no to her for some reason.

"Okay, I promise. You can count on me, Akame." he said sincerely with a small smile.

His response caused the raven-haired beauty to sigh in relief, she was glad that he wasn't the type of person to ask too many questions because if he was, she would've fibbed about having to do something and just leave for her bedroom. Now that she had calmed down, she can finally brace herself for what she would do next.

"Good. That makes me feel a lot calmer now." she muttered as she turned to the side, before looking back at Tatsumi once again. "Tatsumi, how do you do it?"

"How do I do what?" he replied, raising an eyebrow.

"You said that you had a horrible childhood this morning, remember?" she said, causing his eyes to widen. "If all of that is true, then how come you can still smile and act all happy as if it was nothing? You were forced to train on how to survive and fight by your father, your mother treated you like you were an outcast, you had nobody in your family to rely on… you were alone."

"No, I wasn't. Sayo and Ieyasu were there for me, you know." he answered, somehow feeling offended with what she just said.

"I didn't include both of them in this, and please let me finish what I say." she retorted, causing the boy to sigh before he nodded in understanding. "What I meant was that you had no siblings to be there for you when you need them the most… unlike me."

"What are you trying to say?" he narrowed his eyes.

She leaned in closer and grabbed his shoulders. "How are you able to smile, when you had to go through a path that was worse than mine?!" she almost shouted, desperate for answers from the brunette, who was only shocked at her outburst. "How are you not an emotionless weapon, when we had to go through the same fate?! No, you had to go through worse! But why are you acting normal like nothing happened? Are you somehow trained for a longer time so you can perfectly mask your real feelings?"

"I don't really get it! What the hell are you going on about?!" he said, trying to break free of Akame's grasp but she only tightened her grip on his shirt.

"We've both gone through hell during our childhood, Tatsumi… just by listening to your story earlier, I could remember myself in you… it felt like I was you for a brief moment until I realized that you nearly had the same past as mine. We've both been forced to fight, got rejected by our own parents, and learned how to stand up on our own as we grew up."

"Akame…" he muttered, surprised from what he just heard from her. He had previously thought of the girl as cool, calm, collected when she was with her comrades, but that was in jeopardy with what she was trying to show. "What exactly happened to you in the past? How are we alike?" he asked out of concern.

Taking a deep breath, she finally let go of Tatsumi's shirt and went back to her original position, turning her gaze towards the window and into the moonlight that was shining down upon her, which highlighted her facial features even if the lamp inside the room was turned on.

"Like you, I have also been forced to train… like you, my parents rejected me and I doubt they even loved me. However, I did have a sister who was by my side through all of that… which proves that even though our similarities are as large and clearly seen like Danger Beasts, there will always be something that makes us different from each other."

"Go on." he said while nodding, wanting to know more before he eventually answers back.

Her legs moved from the edge of the bed to the mattress itself as she sat Indian-style; the serious look on her face was slowly crumbling into something more vulnerable, and more human. "My parents sold both me and my sister to the Empire when we were little… we were forced to survive in a forest full of Danger Beasts, and that was how I learned to kill and survive on my own. But during that time, I got separated from my sister and I was left alone. For a time, I was like you with nobody in my family to be there for me when I needed them… until I met Night Raid."

Tatsumi only looked at her and listened to her every word, this was a serious conversation in any step of the way.

"I've done my best to retain my old self, but the old Akame seemed too far gone to even come back. Even if I tried to be happy or at least show some emotions, it's not the same. It's like I don't have anything to be happy about anymore." the girl was deeply conflicted, and it looked like she could break down at any second.

"W-What happened to your sister, Akame?" he tried to ask, since she never mentioned anything about her after saying that they got separated.

"I don't want to talk about it." she shook her head before turning to the side, and since Tatsumi wasn't one to ask questions, he understood her answer.

"Okay, I understand." he nodded. "What exactly do you want from me, then?"

Her serious tone returned almost immediately as she tried to put on a threatening look, but found that she couldn't for some unknown reason.

"I want answers from you. I've told you what I've been through from a basic perspective, and it ends with me being this emotionless weapon that I am right now. How come that you are not the same as me, when you have gone through worse than me? Being an only child and getting abused by your own parents is a fate that I miraculously did not fall under, not that I mean it in an offending manner. But I hope that you'll understand what I'm trying to ask you, Tatsumi."

He nodded. "I do… but before I say anything, do you think of me as some kind of idiot or something?" he said, narrowing his eyes and catching Akame off guard. "The only idiot here is you."

Akame widened her eyes slightly before she narrowed them yet again as she glared at Tatsumi. "Excuse me?"

"I did. You think I'm not affected by what's happening around me? All the deaths, and all the pain? Huh?! What kind of question is that? Why the hell would you think of that? If I wasn't affected at all, why would I even cry when Ieyasu died right in front of my eyes?! How can you explain that, Akame? Huh?!"

"Fine, I will accept that argument but still… that doesn't answer my question where you can act like everything is normal despite everything bad that has happened to you. I was talking about your childhood, Tatsumi. Why is it that despite everything you went through as a child, it didn't affect or at least, influence what you are right now?"

"What's the big deal?" he answered, leaning closer to her face to try and see in her eyes if she somehow had some unknown intention behind all this. He knew that she wanted to talk to him, but it seemed like she had something else in mind. "Why do you want to know so badly?!"

"Because you might be my only hope in the personal problems I've been having, Tatsumi!" she nearly shouted in his face, trying her best to prevent her tears from falling which caused the brunette to recoil back. "My own past is one of the things that I dread the most about myself, and I didn't even tell any of it to the others! Well, at least not everything about myself… I trusted you that you would be able to understand my situation and help me because we've been through almost the same happenings during our childhood, but you've endured through a path worse than mine. Now please, answer me right now… I ask again, how can you stay happy and cheerful despite every bad thing that happened to you? How are you not emotionless like what I am most of the time?" she asked again, keeping her glare at him since she wanted answers. NOW.

He finally sighed in defeat as he begun to explain. "Fine, you win. Yeah, like I said, of course I'm affected by what's happening around me. All the deaths, the hardships, challenges, the people I've killed, and will kill in the future! All of them… this burden I've carried for so long has bothered almost every night when I think back and reflect about my life. But for my own good, I needed to change myself because it would affect my own self if I continue living in the ghost of my past. What would Sayo and Ieyasu say if I ever become, like you say, an emotionless machine?"

"And how did you succeed in that?" she asked with all her attention focused on him.

He shrugged, looking away. "Simple. I look at the bright side of what happened to me."

"W-What? What do you mean by that?" she asked with a confused expression on her face.

"Even though my parents were abusive as hell towards me, if it wasn't for them I could never be the man I am today. If it wasn't for them sending me to a training camp or treating me like a slave, I could've never learned how to defend myself or be independent. So, in a way, I'm thankful for them because like it or not, they were still my parents."

"But how are you still able to smile despite everything? What you said had no relation to my question at all." she was starting to get frustrated.

"I wasn't finished, okay?" he answered back, causing the girl to shut up in her place. "I can smile like my normal self because I _want_ to. I don't want to be an emotionless wreck who's dreading over what happened in the past because one, it's in history and there's no point in trying to change it. Two, it's because I want to live my life to the fullest and that obviously doesn't involve me holding myself back for every bad memory I have."

Akame was still confused, albeit barely because she was starting to get it. Perhaps something more understandable could spell it out for her. "What do you mean by that?"

"Like I said, you guys including me could atone for the sins that we have done anytime. In other words, any of us could die at any moment in the future… but I'm not going to let that happen without being happy. I won't die without knowing that I am satisfied with the life I've had. You only live once, Akame… but you should treat every single day like it was your last day in this world…" he hugged both of his knees and looked to the side. "Yeah, I was like you once… but I've learned how to deal with my own demons by simply focusing on what's happening to me in the present. I'm not too much of a guy to get stuck in his own past, anyway."

She only looked at him in shock. "How do I know that you're telling the truth, Tatsumi?"

"Because I can bet that once you die and you're still the emotionless weapon that you say you are, you'll regret not being able to live your life like a normal person does. You'll feel bad for yourself when you realize that you wasted your life trying to deal with your past that you never gave a shit about your own friends here in Night Raid."

Her eyes widened.

"What if you die tomorrow? The day after that? Next week? You can't deny what I said and say it's not true. Who cares if you're an emotionless wreck? You're bound to reflect on what happened to yourself during your whole life when you die… and trust me when I tell you that it hurts so much when you find out that you never got to focus on what you wanted for yourself since you couldn't let go of your past."

It took almost a minute for her to say anything, but she finally managed to respond to him after being taken aback. Akame's red eyes were narrowed, but even a normal person could see that Tatsumi's words got to her very core.

"How do you know that I will regret living like a normal person when I die? You don't know me deep enough to make that kind of excuse. What do I have over other people that lets me be happy? Why should I even be happy in the first place? I am an assassin, and the path we've took leads to sin and death. Happiness cannot be found in this path. And my past is something that can't be forgotten that easily, Tatsumi… I've been through some things that you have no idea about."

He grinned at her. "Simple. Assassin or not, we're humans. Humans have emotions. You have emotions no matter how much you try to deny it, Akame."

Her mouth fell open at his explanation, shock being painted all over her face.

"If you were really an emotionless machine like you were saying earlier, you can't possibly feel anger, sadness, anxiety, pride, fear, grief, or excitement… let alone happiness. We're humans, so it's not really surprising even if you feel happy while being an assassin at the same time. Who cares, anyway? Do you think a person would swoop in and tell you that you shouldn't be happy with every person you've killed? The other members of Night Raid can still smile despite everything that you guys have been through before I joined, and I can tell that they aren't fake."

Akame was having thoughts of her own as she thought about Tatsumi's words. " _He's right… I… I am a human like everyone else… I cry, feel sad, afraid, regret and grieve… then… then… I'm no different from Leone, Mine, Boss, and the others… but then… why am I even asking him this question?"_

It was at that moment that she realized he was right.

She was an idiot.

Akame felt like an idiot at that moment.

With her long raven hair covering her eyes, Akame stood up from the bed with her hands just resting in front of her thighs. She felt extremely embarrassed for having to go all the way here and interrupt him from his time for sleeping just for a simple answer to her ridiculous question, that she just wanted this night to end so they could go ahead and train with each other tomorrow.

"I'm sorry, Tatsumi. I interrupted you from sleeping just to answer my stupid question. Thank you for your time." she spoke. "I will go back to my room now. Be sure to wake up early tomorrow." she was about to leave when she felt Tatsumi hold her hand just like how she did this morning.

She turned around to face him; Tatsumi skidded over to the other edge of his bed and pulled Akame along in the process, causing her to sit back down on the opposite side. Her gaze never left Tatsumi as he lied down on his side before he yawned.

"It's late in the middle of the night. You should sleep here if you don't want to collapse in the hallway and sleep there. You've had a rough day, Akame. Better have it all end with a good night's sleep. But the door is open, so you can still go back to your room if you want to. And don't mention it, okay? We're friends." he said.

She looked at him for a few seconds, slightly surprised by his sudden words. Did he just invite her to sleep with him? She heard from Lubbock's pervy mouth once that boys and girls shouldn't sleep beside one another because that would be awkward for both parties, unless they were siblings. Akame and Tatsumi looked at each other for a few more seconds before she finally spoke again.

"Alright."

She turned the lamp off, lied down on her side under the blankets while both her and Tatsumi were still staring at one another as if they had something else to say. The air around them was cold Yet the boy only grinned and turned his back to her, preparing to go to sleep.

"Good night, Akame." he said simply.

Her eyes widened one last time before she smiled in return. "Good night, Tatsumi." she replied, before she blushed unknowingly for a few seconds. "Thank you for… tonight. For… helping me understand myself a bit more. And yes, we are friends Tatsumi." she finished, closing her eyes to let sleep overtake her.

Unbeknownst to her, he had heard what the girl said. Fortunately for him, he was still barely awake that he managed to turn around and look at her beautiful face.

He _smiled back_.

* * *

 **(The Next Morning; 5:00 a.m.)**

Tatsumi and Akame were both sleeping peacefully inside his room; both were in peace after the emotional talk that they had last night and they deserved this for as the reward for having to go through such a deep conversation between two newly-made friends. Almost like robots about to wake up from a program installed into them, both assassins shot up from the bed, sitting up immediately as if someone just rang a church bell inside the bedroom. They yawned and rubbed their eyes afterwards but after they heard each other do so, they turned their heads around to face one another.

"Oh, Akame. I didn't know you slept here, I… I thought you headed back to your room last night…" Tatsumi said, getting off from the bed for some early morning stretches. "So, you wake up this early as well?" he asked.

"I wake up every morning at this time, and I'm surprised that you woke up at the same time as me. I thought I'd have to drag you off your bed or something else." she replied, not noticing the fact that she was staring at Tatsumi as he did some push ups off the edge of the mattress.

"Yeah, I'm not really a heavy sleeper. I've always woken up early ever since I was a child. Kind of been stuck on me ever since and I just rolled with it. So, when is our training taking place?" he said, now doing some body stretching that he never even saw Akame look dazed for a second.

"Well, it starts now. Get dressed and meet me at the training grounds in ten minutes." Akame said, snapping herself out of her trance, as she got off the bed and headed out the door.

"Okay, gotcha!" he flashed her a grin and a thumbs-up before performing one round of stationary jogging.

After he finished his early exercises and got dressed after, Tatsumi quickly made his way down to the training grounds. Upon arriving, he found Akame be doing some early stretches just like what he did while she was waiting for him to arrive. Tatsumi couldn't help but stare at the beautiful girl, as she went through her various movements. The young man's face began to redden due to his perverted thoughts, imagining many impure situations that involved both him and Akame before he shook his head to get it out of his mind.

"Tatsumi? How long have you been standing there?" Akame's voice rang out as the girl walked closer towards him.

"Just now, actually! So, what are we going to do first, Akame?" Tatsumi asked, immediately changing the topic so he could forget that he was just staring at her a few moments ago.

"We're going for a run." Akame replied before doing some final stretches.

"That's all?" Tatsumi asked with an eyebrow raised;clearly she was up to something and he wondered what it was.

"How do you think I can move so quick? I always start every morning with a run." Akame explained, as she entered into a sprinter's stance. "I want to see if you can keep up. If you can, then there would be no need for you to go through this exercise."

"I got it." he replied with a nod as he assumed the same stance as the girl. "Anytime you're ready to go, Akame."

"Right now." As soon as the words left Akame's mouth in a low whisper, the girl took off down the path ahead. Thanks to his enhanced sense of hearing, Tatsumi was able to hear her words and quickly took off from their starting point, running down the same path as she did.

"Nice try, Akame." Tatsumi said as he glanced over to the side, grinning. He then noticed Akame look over to him as well, smirking as she silently praised him for having quick reactions. To her surprise, Tatsumi managed to keep up with her even though she noticed that he only had peak human speed. However, Akame took the lead a few moments later due to her experience and training. Tatsumi chased after her through the forest, racing past many trees and fallen logs, and the girl was eventually forced to go full-speed since the brunette had killer endurance in his skills, which was something that shockee her. Throughout their entire run, the brunette never got more than 5 feet away from Akame and that was already an achievement in its own right since the red-eyed assassin is one of the fastest members of Night Raid.

After almost half an hour of running continuously, Akame finally came to a stop. Both were panting heavily, and their clothes were drenched in sweat due to how fast and how long they had to run. "At least… I… didn't let you… escape my sights… the whole time… right, Akame?"

"Well done, Tatsumi." Akame said, taking a few deep breaths. "You may not… be as fast as I am… but your endurance… is on another level. We could work on improving that…" The two found a nearby log before they sat on top of it as they took a quick rest. About a minute later, they stood up and did a few stretches to help relax their bodies before Akame walked closer to Tatsumi as he looked at her in curiosity.

"Tatsumi, do you have anything to teach me about?" she asked, causing him to raise an eyebrow for a few seconds before he remembered the talk that they had yesterday.

"Oh, right! Damn, I forgot. Okay, uh… let's see… okay, I got something!" he exclaimed, standing up from the log before he raised up both of his hands as if he was about to be arrested. "When learning Strong Style, you have to be aware of your strength." he began to explain. "Your strength will determine how strong your strikes can possibly be,like when you punch someone. If you punch too hard, you kill someone and if too soft, it's mercy. Since we're assassins, obviously you'll have to incorporate your full strength into one strike so you can end it early. Try it." he said, beckoning her to punch him.

The girl looked at him blankly for a few seconds before she raised her arms like how a boxer does before she threw a right hook at his left hand, and he immediately shook his head in response.

"Terrible." he commented.

"Why don't you show me how it's done, then?" she asked and Tatsumi only nodded in response.

Walking away from the red-eyed assassin, he approached a nearby tree and threw a right hook at it, and Akame's eyes widened slightly when she saw that he managed to destroy a small chunk of the trunk with a single punch.

Tatsumi walked back towards his companion and pointed to his work. "That's how you punch. Are you still going to go for it, Akame? It took me five years to punch away a hole that big out of a tree back in the training camp."

"Only five?"

"Another five years to train myself to withstand the pain I feel every time I do it." he added.

"So this is what you meant when you said that the training that this style requires is pushed beyond a normal human's limits…" she concluded before she started walking towards another tree. "But I will not back down from this, Tatsumi. I will learn how to fight like you, one way or another." she finished, preparing herself for what was to come.

"Okay, but don't push yourself too far." he reminded her. "We're going to take this slow, not overexert yourself and possibly kill you, okay? It takes a very long time to get to punch a hole like that on a tree, so don't feel bad if you don't even get a good scratch on it."

"I understand." she replied before she swung her first punch.

Half an hour later, Tatsumi decided that it was the perfect time for Akame to stop, despite her insisting that she could still keep on going. Apparently, she fell into frustration and tried to make her punches stronger during the last minutes, which left the boy no choice but to make her stop. During the time in which she was given, Akame managed to punch away only bits off the tree bark, which was not bad for a beginner like her.

Right now, both assassins were sitting on a log with Tatsumi bandaging her knuckles because both were glowing red from all the punches that she threw.

"You're not bad… you destroyed small bits of the during your first day." he commented as he held her hand gently, before wrapping it in the bandage that he had.

"Really? I thought I did horrible." she admitted, a small blush forming on her face out of embarrassment.

"Nonsense. To be honest, during my first days in training, I cried immediately as soon as I hit the tree." he said, chuckling at that particular memory. "You managed to get through half an hour of punching a hard surface, even though you had breathers all throughout the way."

"That makes me better then." she replied with a smile, and Tatsumi smiled back in return.

"So you decided to take my advice from last night? That's good, then." he said, finishing on applying bandage to her right hand as he moved to her left one.

"I realized you were right about it, Tatsumi. About everything that you said. I guess I've just been either blind to the truth or idiotic that I couldn't figure it out myself." she confessed, turning her gaze to the side afterwards. " _Why do I feel embarrassed whenever I talk to him?"_ she asked herself in confusion.

"Don't sweat it, I'm always there to help a friend in need. Besides, the others would be angry at me if I didn't make you see through reason… okay, this goes here and there! All done! The pain should be gone tonight, so tomorrow it'll be as good as new!" he said, finishing wrapping Akame's left hand with bandages.

Akame stood up and smiled at him. "Thank you, Tatsumi." she bowed her head slightly before she walked past Tatsumi, and down the path they had just ran down earlier. "Come on then, it's time for us to head back. The next part of your training will commence once we reach the training grounds."

* * *

 **(Two Hours Later; Night Raid's Kitchen)**

 _"Ieyasu… I'm so glad Sayo and I learned how to cook."_ Tatsumi thought as he chopped up some vegetables. After his grueling morning training with Akame, which consisted of evasive, swordsmanship as well as more of his Strong Style training after their morning run, the girl informed him that he'd be helping her preparing Night Raid's meals. _"Thanks to it…"_

"MORE, PLEASE!" A sudden exclamation from behind caused Tatsumi to snap out from his thoughts and sigh.

 _"This is not what I was expecting while I would be training with Akame… I never thought that she would be the cook in here."_ he thought, as he handed over another bowl of hot stew for the other Night Raid members. "I guess I'm gonna be stuck here for the rest of my Night Raid days…" he sighed.

"It can't be helped." Akame said, wearing a pink apron, as she popped a grape into her mouth. "I'm in charge of cooking here at the base, it's only natural that you help me here while I'm training you."

"Am I not helping you train in using Strong Style? And you're only the cook so you can eat all the samples you want." Tatsumi pointed out with a deadpanned expression.

"That's not true." Akame said as she popped another grape into her mouth.

"You're not doing a great job of convincing me, Akame." Tatsumi said with a smirk as he returned to cutting the vegetables.

"Pffft, nice apron Tatsumi." Mine laughed out of nowhere, causing Tatsumi to smile slightly.

"Thanks. The last time I heard those words was years ago from Sayo's mouth…" Tatsumi calmly replied, chuckling slightly afterwards. He never noticed that Mine shut up in her place after his reply, because she was expecting him to lash out as a reply but he never did.

" _Stop acting so cool and calm, baka!"_ she shouted in her mind, feeling flustered due to her growing crush on the brunette.

However, Tatsumi did turn around just to get the dirty dishes from the table but stopped all of a sudden when he saw everyone gathered around the pinkette. "What's going on? Are you guys heading out?"

"Yeah, we got a new assignment. So, we're heading off to the capital." Mine explained, placing her hands on her hips as she managed to snap herself out of embarrassment.

"Thanks for looking after the base for us." Sheele said with a warm smile, pushing her glasses back up.

"No worries. Be careful on your mission, okay?" Tatsumi said with a smile.

"Aww, you worry too much Tatsumi!" Leone teased, causing the boy to slightly blush in embarrassment. Apparently it was only Leone and Sayo who could both tease the brunette and make him feel embarrassed at the same time. "Don't worry, we'll be back immediately! So, there's no need to be like that, okay?"

"O… kay…" he muttered, before he saw Sayo begin to speak up.

"Yeah, don't treat us as if we aren't capable of taking care of ourselves, idiot." she smirked for a few seconds before it disappeared into a full-blown smile. "Seriously though, thanks for worrying about us. It means a lot to me, Tatsumi."

Sayo got her official welcome yesterday after she got discharged from the medical bay. Unlike Tatsumi, she managed to receive a proper welcome from Mine; it was initially thought that the two would be rivals due to their claims of being a 'genius sniper', but it turned out to be the opposite. Apparently, the two became quick friends upon learning that they were both long-ranged snipers and they were common in a few qualities, resulting in Sayo sending her childhood an evil grin. Apart from Mine, she was welcomed into the group without the need for a test to see what her abilities were, something that the girl didn't hesitate to tease Tatsumi about.

"Of course, Sayo. You're my precious childhood friend, after all." he said, causing the black-haired archer to blush furiously before looking to the side in embarrassment.

"Haha, the newbie and Akame are watching the house!" Mine laughed, as she pointed at Tatsumi. "Having fun cutting up carrots all day!" With a wave, Mine and the other Night Raid members left the room. "Ta ta!"

" _That girl sure is full of energy…"_ he thought to himself before he noticed that it was only him and Akame in the base apart from Najenda. " _Oh yeah, I'm stuck with her for a while… I wonder what's gonna happen between us while we're here…"_

Tatsumi never noticed the secret glances that Akame has been sending him ever since the others left.

* * *

 **(10 Minutes Later; South of Night Raid's Hidden Base)**

"Hey, Akame we're getting really far from the hideout." Tatsumi pointed out, glancing back at the shrinking mountains behind them in the distance. "Is it really alright for us to be out this far? Boss might get worried about us…"

"We'll be fine if we go a little deeper into the mountains. We should be there in a few minutes, so there's no need to worry about anything." Akame said as she pushed through the bushes in front of her, and stepped into a clearing with a pristine isolated river and waterfall. "See, we've reached the place."

"Wow. This place is really beautiful, Akame." Tatsumi said, not noticing that Akame was stripping out of her clothes behind him. "How on Earth did you find this place?"

"I stumbled across it while I was hunting for supplies back then." Akame replied, as she tossed off her shirt. "Now hurry up and get those off, we're going to kill some river prey." she said, referring to his clothes.

"What're you —" Tatsumi tried to say as he turned around, only for his eyes to widen slightly at what he saw. The dark-haired girl had shed her clothes, leaving her dressed in a white bikini. Tatsumi's entire face burned red as he stared at Akame's beautiful body. If watching her stretch early in the morning was great, this was at least ten times better because it was right in front of him.

"What are you doing?" he asked in confusion, raising an eyebrow while trying to suppress his blush.

"I need to be able to move fast in the water." Akame explained, walking over to a small ledge that was overlooking the river. "So I shed all unnecessary clothing."

"Oh… I getcha!" he replied as he began to slowly take off his clothes. However, he was so lost in his own world that he didn't even notice Akame was staring at him blankly as he did so; apparently, it had been this way for more than a few times now and it bothered even the girl herself quite a bit. She wasn't used to being around one man for more than three hours and it kind of scared her for a bit that something wrong might be going on with her. Last night, Tatsumi's words hit her pretty badly that she tried to become more open with her emotions from now on.

But, it only led to this.

Akame found herself getting a bit attached to Tatsumi himself ever since he joined Night Raid, and it only reached a new level last night. Almost every second of the moment, her mind was all focused on one specific brunette and it wasn't like her to get her thoughts off being an assassin even for just a second. It had only been two days since Tatsumi has been here yet it felt like it was a year for the red-eyed beauty, just by thinking of him and his smile. Indeed, she can be caught glancing or staring at the boy every minute that they were in the same room together or even if they were alone with one another, and this was definitely not like how she normally acted.

If anything, she's having a silly schoolgirl crush on Tatsumi.

But in truth, she had no idea what's happening with her own mind.

"So, what are we doing today, Akame?" he asked, left shirtless and clad in only his boxers as he went beside her and cracked his neck a little bit to prepare for whatever thing that she was cooking up in her mind.

"We'll be hunting for Elegant Tuna. Consider this as another part of your training under me, Tatsumi." Akame said, before she dove right into the water before he could even say anything in response.

"But… aren't those the rare monster fish that are super caut-" Tatsumi was cut off from his own words when several Elegant Tuna burst out of the water, and landed in Akame's wicker basket. _"Okay, I totally did not expect her to be that quick…_ " A few moments later, Akame went back to the surface for a quick breath of air.

"You must dive to the bottom of the river, and make your presence completely unknown. Then when you prey is close you strike. You'll need to make — where'd he go?" Akame explained, before she noticed that he wasn't up there in the cliff anymore. " _Where could he possibly be?"_

She was then caught off guard when three Elegant Tunas suddenly jumped out of the water and into the girl's basket. Akame watched as Tatsumi went back to the surface just like how she did and took a few deep breaths.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying? Bring it on." he smirked before he dove back into the river to the collect more of Elegant Tunas. Akame smirked back in return before she went on to get more tuna; apparently, she didn't have to teach him _everything_.

* * *

 **(Later That Night; Back at Night Raid's Base)**

"So…" Najenda said, taking a bite out of her Elegant Tuna. "In the end, Tatsumi managed to catch eleven… that makes you a dangerous rival for Akame, indeed… very impressive for your first time."

"Hey…" Leone said, nudging Tatsumi with her elbow. "Is it true that you ripped off your shirt, showed off some skin, and yelled 'bring it on'?" Tatsumi's face flushed red in embarrassment, as Leone leaned in closer towards him with a mischievous grin. A shiver ran down the young man's spine, when the busty blonde started whispering in his ear. "Because if it's still available, maybe you can give me a preview in private later."

"That's enough teasing, Leone." Najenda said, grinning at the blushing Tatsumi. "The poor kid looks like he's gonna pass out any moment now."

"I'm not teasing." Leone whispered, as she gave Tatsumi one last sultry wink before she went back to eating her food. Tatsumi's blush took a deeper turn, that his face was the same color as Akame's eyes.

"So Akame, how did Tatsumi do on his first day of training with you? Did you learn something from him as well?" Najenda asked, turning to face the dark-haired girl.

"He's impressive and already versed in most of the training I gave him." Akame said, as she stared at the Elegant Tuna head in her hands. "I have no doubt that he'll make a great assassin in no time. I started to train under him and learn his unique Strong Style, but it looks like it will take me a few years I can eventually master it."

"Oooh, that sounds rough to deal with, but great to hear." Najenda said, setting down her chopsticks. "Leone, tell me about your assignment from earlier."

"Our target is Ogre, from the capital's garrison, and an oil merchant named Gamal." Leone explained, as she clasped her hands on top of the table, her voice turning serious. "According to the client, Ogre's been accepting very large bribes from Gamal. Apparently every time Gamal commits a crime, Ogre uses someone else as a scapegoat. The client's fiancé was framed for one these crimes, and was put to death. She luckily overheard Ogre and Gamal having a pep talk while in prison, and managed to send out a letter. Here's what she's paying for the job." Leone pulled out a sack full of money, and tossed it on the table.

"Wow, she sure saved up a lot." Tatsumi said, staring at the pile of coins in front of him.

"I could smell a sexual transmitted disease on her." Leone said in a dark tone, as her fists clenched tightly. "She probably made that money by selling her body to any sleazebag who would pay for it. Disgusting."

"Have you confirmed all the facts, and proved the client's claims?" Najenda asked, lighting a new cigarette as she narrowed her eyes.

"Yes, they're both guilty of the crimes the client mentioned." Leone replied, taking a deep breath. "I also overheard Gamal and Ogre discussing their dirty dealings from the attic over his oil shop."

"Okay then." Najenda said, taking a quick drag from her cigarette. "Night Raid will accept the contract. Our new nation won't need treacherous scum like Ogre and Gamal. Deliver divine punishment upon them."

"It'll be a cinch to take down Gamal, but…" Leone said, as she began to rub her chin. "Ogre is a completely different story. He's been nicknamed the 'demon' because of his skills with a blade. Criminals around the capital know better than to oppose him. He's usually seen with his band of lackeys. Beyond that, he spends most of his time in the guard house. The bribes he takes from Gamal are conducted in his private quarters. On his days off, he never strays too far from the garrison… and he usually drinks on the main street near the palace."

"Looks like our only shot is on his day off." Tatsumi said, earning a nod from from the Boss.

"But security around the palace is extremely tight, so we can't send Akame on this job. Her face is plastered all over wanted posters scattered around the capital." Najenda said, as she released a light sigh.

"Couldn't we just wait for Mine and the others to get back then?" Akame suggested, as she looked at the silver-haired woman for approval.

"But we have no idea when they'll be finished with their job. Might take them the next day or the day after that." Leone pointed out, leaning back in her seat.

"In that case…" Tatsumi said, as he slammed his hand down onto the table with a determined look on his face. "We have to carry out the mission by ourselves!"

"So, you're saying you'll take out Ogre?" Najenda asked with an amused smirk.

"I'll go after Ogre. Akame and Leone can take out Gamal." Tatsumi said, causing the Boss to quirk an eyebrow in curiosity. Was Tatsumi being arrogant or was he doing this for the better?

"Well, they don't know what I look like either, but you said you wanted to take out Ogre so I have no problem with that." Leone said, shrugging. _"I want to see what you can really do Tatsumi. Show me and Akame what you can do in the real world of assassins."_ she finished in her thoughts.

"Tatsumi…" Akame said, getting the young man's attention. When Tatsumi looked at Akame, he could have sworn that he saw worry briefly flash through her blood-red eyes. "I'll admit that you're very skilled… but you heard where Ogre's reputation brings him to. You can't do this on your own. Wait for me, and we'll take him down together."

He smiled at her. "I appreciate your concern Akame, but while we're just sitting here discussing our options… there might be more people being falsely accused by these assholes, right?" Tatsumi said with a determined look in his eyes. "Don't worry about me, I'll kill Ogre. I'll complete the mission, one way or another. Besides, your face is all over the wanted posters in the capital, right? I won't have you risk your own safety for my own."

Akame gasped lightly.

"I'm starting to like everyone here, that's why. And that's the reason why I won't have anyone fight my battles for me. I don't want anyone to get hurt protecting me. Not anymore."

 _"Tatsumi… you…"_ Akame thought, as she stared at him.

* * *

 _ **Tatsumi's teigu Info Card:**_

 _ **Name: Starfall**_

 _ **Abilities:**_

 _ **Flight/Enhanced Speed- Allows easy maneuverability and a quick getaway; can be incorporated in attacks, both the blade and the user glows yellow while in flight**_

 _ **Enhanced Strength - Once trained enough, the user's strength will increase drastically that a single punch can end a life**_

 _ **Attacks:**_

 _ **Heavenly Blast - Unleash a small beam of energy from the sword that can disrupt other attacks and incapacitate an opponent**_

 _ **Blazing Comet - The blade turns into a flaming whip that burns anything it comes into contact with; can only be used for five minutes.**_

 _ **Starlight - a powerful 5-hit combo that ends in a downwards slash that is imbued with the energy of a core of a star**_

 _ **Rain Dip - Strike the enemy repeatedly with Murasame while hiding both users' presence through the rain; speed of both users is increased drastically, and can only be performed if Murasame is involved (SPECIAL COLLABORATIVE ATTACK)**_

 _ **Trump card: God's Comet - ?**_

 _ **?**_

 _ **Kidding! Here it is.**_

 _ **God's Comet - Imbues the sword with the energy of all heavenly bodies before the user rushes forward so fast with one horizontal slash that goes through a specific target; any other obstacle is cut down in the process and the user will not stop until the target is eliminated. THIS CAN ONLY BE USED ONCE.**_

 _ **End of Info**_

 _ **Harem: Akame, Sayo, Leone, Sheele, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 ** _Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome_**

 ** _Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review._**

 ** _Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture*_**

 ** _-Lance_**


	5. Kill the Worry

_**NOTE: Tatsumi will NOT receive Incursio in this story. Starfall already gives him a huge edge in battle and I rather not make him OP. Besides, the teigu I gave him is already enough. After Bulat dies, Incursio will be sent to the HQ of the Revolutionary Army for safekeeping.**_

"Normal Talking"

 _"Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters…**_

* * *

"Alright, it's settled then. I must say I admire your determination, Tatsumi." Najenda said with a grin, leaning forward in her chair. "You take out Ogre."

"Well said, Tatsumi!" Leone cheered, wrapping her arm around his neck before pressing the side of his face into her breasts that caused him to blush heavily. "I love your resolve! Keep it up and you'll be a master assassin in no time!"

"Yes, I'll trust you in this Tatsumi. You're very skilled and strong, after all." Akame said before snatching the brunette away from Leone and pressed the side of his head into her own modest bust. Tatsumi was both shocked and embarrassed at the same time with the black-haired assassin while Leone sent her friend a questioning look, caught off guard with Akame's sudden action.

" _So Akame's becoming a little bolder now? Hmm, this'll be fun to see…"_ she giggled mischievously in her mind. " _Though I never expected her to hug him that way…"_

"Leone and Akame, you heard the kid. The both of you will take out Gamal." Najenda ordered, earning a nod from the two girls.

"Well, I guess I'll need to get ready and report back to you when I'm done. WOO! This will be my first mission, and I'm already excited!" Tatsumi said as he walked out of the room enthusiastically to prepare for his mission tonight.

 _"Just come back in one piece, Tatsumi."_ Both Leone and Akame thought, watching Tatsumi leave the room and this particular move wasn't missed by the Boss. Night Raider's leader had a small smirk on her face, as she put out her cigarette before looking at the two girls in front of her.

 _"Looks like Lubbock was right… Tatsumi managed to get their attention and without even trying. I'm curious to see how this will play out…_ " Najenda thought, gazing at Leone and Akame with an amused look. _"This should be fun to watch and see how it plays out."_

* * *

 **(Later that Night; Streets of the Capital)**

"If you go straight down here, you'll eventually be on the main street a good walk." Leone said, as she pointed at the road that was in front of Tatsumi.

"Alright, I got it! I'll take down that son of a bitch!" Tatsumi exclaimed with a grin, clenching his fists in determination.

"Tatsumi… before you go… let me tell you a little bit about Akame's past. Since you've been hanging out around with her for the last few days that you've been here, I think you should at least know a little something about her." Leone said, immediately gaining Tatsumi's full attention before he grinned.

"No worries, I already know! Akame and her sister were sold to the Empire by their parents and they were both separated from each other when they had to be taught on how to kill and survive." he said, causing Leone's eyes to widen.

"Wait, how do you know?!" she asked incredulously. "That's supposed to be one of her secrets and I don't remember anyone telling you about it."

He began to walk down the path that Leone just pointed at and finished his words. "She told me all about it last night. Had a nice talk with her and she told me some things about herself, including her sister and how she grew up. Later!" he added, before he began to run off.

Leone's eyes widened at his words as she stared at his figure running away in the distance. " _Woah, I was having the hunch that Akame is attracted to him but I never expected her to trust him that easily to tell him what happened to her in the past…"_ she thought to herself. " _Well Akame, you may get to spend more time with him for now, but I will have my time with Tatsumi."_ she added with a triumphant grin.

 **(Brothel; A few miles West of the Capital)**

"Damn!" Gamal exclaimed, wiping some sweat off his brow. The hideous-looking man adjusted his robes, as he walked back to his room. "I feel so much better after going to the bathroom. I think I'll have that whore get me off one more time before I go… just for fun, hehehehehe…" he chuckled darkly.

"Sure thing." A low voice said from the shadows next to Gamal. "I'll get you off this mortal world for good." Before Gamal could even react, a pair of extremely arms wrapped around his neck; holding him in place. The man struggled to turn his head in order to see who was strangling him, to no avail. "I got you now, you sick fuck." Gamal's eyes widened in shock when he felt a blade pierce his stomach as his blood spurted out into the floor. The last thing Gamal saw before he died was a pair of blood-red eyes staring into his very soul.

Leone chuckled as she dropped the Gamal's corpse onto the ground. "The bastard should be happy, he got two sexy babes at once! Didn't he, Akame?"

"I wonder how Tatsumi's doing against his target..." Akame said, ignoring her friend's comment as she wiped her the blood off her blade on Gamal's dead body. _"I hope he's okay. I know that he's very skilled, but I can't help but be worried for him… what is happening with me?"_

 **(Main Street; Empire's Capital)**

"Ah! Nothing beats a drink after a good lengthy interrogation." Ogre said, walking down the capital's main street. The massive man grinned, as he saw several people waved to him. Despite the wrong doings that he has been involved in, most people in the capital respect him for 'dealing' with crime in the place.

"Master Ogre!" One of the people called out. "You did an excellent job the other day. Thank you so much for your help."

"No problem." Ogre said, waving back to the man. "If you ever have a problem that needs fixing, just let me know! " The corrupt man's grin turned sinister, as he continued his stroll down the street. _"I'm the king of this town… I have all of the authority… I can do whatever I want!"_

"E-Excuse me, Master Ogre." A quiet voice called out. Ogre spun around quickly, thinking that it was danger only to see a hooded boy standing behind him. "There's something I want to speak with you about."

"Well, what is it? Out with it boy, cause I don't have a lot of spare time…" Ogre said in an annoyed tone.

"I'd like it better if we discussed this in some place more private." Tatsumi said, gesturing to a alley next to them. "Could we perhaps speak down this alley? I am not really good with public places…"

"Whatever kid, just make this quick. I haven't got all day." Ogre said as he followed Tatsumi down the alleyway, while he was also studying the boy if he had any hidden intent. Once they were both in a secluded part of the alley where nobody could possibly hear or see them, Tatsumi stopped walking. _"Hmm, I don't sense any danger coming from this kid."_ Ogre thought, as he stared at Tatsumi before speaking once again. "Well? Is this private enough for you? It better be, cause I don't fancy having to walk again."

"Yes it is." After taking a deep breath, Tatsumi sprang into action. Before Ogre could even blink, Tatsumi had turned around and delivered an elbow towards his face that caught the taller man straight in the jaw, causing him to spit out some of his saliva.

 _"He's so fast!"_ Ogre thought, as his eyes locked his eyes on the boy in front of him, who had revealed himself by removing his hood. But before he could even react to anything else, Tatsumi began his assault of elbows directed towards Ogre's jaw repeatedly that blood was starting to fill up his own mouth. The brunette's speed in striking has improved ever since he fought Bulat, and it was all thanks to a certain red-eyed assassin.

 _"Looks like Akame's speed training is already starting to pay off. My hand strikes are faster than they were, but I'm still nowhere near as fast as her though."_ Tatsumi thought as he quickly went behind his enemy while he was still incapacitated and trapped Ogre in a sleeper hold, immediately adding pressure to it that easily got the bigger man to fall down to his knees, about to lose consciousness due to how fast and how brutal Tatsumi laid out 'divine punishment' over him.

 _"As an assassin, you must never hesitate on the battlefield. The final blow has to be swift and decisive."_ Akame's voice said from inside his mind as he remembered her words of advice during their training earlier this morning.

 _"That's right, Akame. Thank you for being by my side."_ Tatsumi thought, as ran towards a considerable distance in front of Ogre before stopping eventually. The brown-haired assassin focused his sight directly towards his enemy before running back for the soccerball kick to the opponent's chest. However, his eyes then widened when he saw that Ogre was trying to reach for his own blade, nearly getting out of his unconscious state. Reacting instinctively, Tatsumi brought out _**Starfall**_ just as he reached the older man, before cutting off Ogre's right arm with one slash.

"AHHHHHH!" Ogre howled in pain, as he no longer felt his right arm, with a gaping hole being left in its place as it spewed blood. But before he could even fully comprehend what just happened, Tatsumi flew back to his original place earlier while also cutting through the corrupt man's left arm, leaving him with no upper limbs remaining. "ARRGGGHHH! YOU LITTLE BRAT!" he screamed out in agony that he couldn't move from his place anymore.

 _"Damn! I better kill him quick before someone comes to check out what's happening."_ Tatsumi thought, before he ran towards the poor man once again, this time managing to hit his soccerball kick towards the bastard's chest even though he was armored. Tatsumi didn't even feel pain when his leg collided with steel before he turned his attention to his own partner, who was lying on the ground, helpless due to the strength of Tatsumi's last attack that his armor felt like it was useless all along.

Tatsumi wiped the sweat off his forehead before he raised his sword for one last strike. As his life flashed before his eyes, he decapitated Ogre with a single swing. The evil man's head was sent skidding down the alley afterwards, before he placed _**Stardust**_ back in its sheath. _"Heh, I did it. That wasn't too hard for my first mission…"_

"Hey! What's going on down there?!" A feminine voice called out from down the end of the alleyway.

"Shit!" Tatsumi exclaimed, as he ran down the alley in the other direction. " _I can't use_ _ **Starfall**_ _to fly out of here… whoever that person is, she'll see that I'm glowing and brand me wanted in this place. I'll have to escape the old-fashioned way!"_

"Hold up, criminal!" The girl shouted, as she began to chase after Tatsumi. However, she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the lifeless body in the middle of the dark alley. "M-Master O-Ogre?!" the girl gasped, falling to her knees at the man's side. Tears fell from her orange eyes, as her small companion walked up next to her. The girl tightly clenched her fists, as her fists tightly balled in anger. "Koro-chan, we're going to bring whoever did this to justice!"

* * *

 **(Two Hours Later; Night Raid's Base)**

"Nice work on taking out such a strong opponent, Tatsumi. To think that you did it all by yourself too…" Najenda complimented, as everyone gathered in Night Raid's meeting room. Mine, Sheele, Sayo, Lubbock, and Bulat were also here, having arrived just about an hour ago after their mission. "Very impressive indeed."

"How was that, Akame!" Tatsumi exclaimed with a grin. "I finished my first mission, and I finished my report. I thought it would be hard at first, but he was too gullible to believe even a single word that I said!" Tatsumi yelped in surprise when Akame suddenly lifted up his shirt. "What are you doing?!"

"Oh, I like what you're thinking Akame!" Leone cheered with a perverted smirk, unaware of Mine blushing beside her like hell due to seeing Tatsumi's body once again. "Rip all his clothes off!"

"Leone. Boss. Hold him sti —" Akame tried to say, only for Tatsumi to recoil back and pull his shirt down again with a horrified expression on his face.

"NO!" he said, shaking his head to refuse whatever plan that Akame was thinking of doing. _**(A/N: In your face, canon!)**_

A concerned expression formed on her face while her eyes became all beady and small; this wasn't the first time that someone denied having injuries after a mission, but it was the first time which involved her trying to reach out and inspect for injuries. "Tatsumi, I've seen so many of my comrades die from not reporting their injuries. I'm just checking to see if you have —"

"I wasn't injured, okay?! Is that so hard to understand?!" he retorted with a hint of desperation in his voice, trying to suppress his still-growing blush that was visible on his cheeks.

"The mortality rate is extremely high for one's first assassination. Tatsumi, this is for your own —" Akame tried to argue, but he only shook his head again before finally speaking.

"I don't care! I don't want to be stripped naked in front of public!" he complained, and silence took over for a few seconds before he sighed. "I appreciate your concern for me, Akame… but really, I'm fine." he said in a calm voice. "And I'm not kidding, okay? It was really easy to deal with him, and if you were just there, you would've seen me fight." He walked closer towards Akame and outstretched his hand. "Have a little faith in me, Akame. If I had injuries and I was unable to cure myself, I would've told all of you about it, anyway. Okay? You can trust me, just as I trust everyone here. And that includes you."

"Okay… I'll trust you… Tatsumi." she replied with a blush on her face, shaking the boy's hand.

"Thanks, Akame." Tatsumi said, as he released Akame's hand. "Besides, your training did help me in more ways than you could know." Completely oblivious to it, he didn't notice that the blush on the girl's face become deeper.

" _There it is again…"_ Akame thought, feeling her heart pounding madly inside her chest. " _Why is my heart beating so fast whenever Tatsumi speaks about me in a good way? I wasn't like this when he treated my wounds back then…"_

"Akame was just like that to you, because she didn't want you to die, Tatsumi. Ain't that sweet?" Leone said with a teasing grin, placing her hands on her hips.

"Akame is no doubt one of our strongest members, but she's also a capable teacher. Do you realize how important the time you've spent with Akame so far has been?"

"Yeah." Tatsumi said, as he turned to smile at Akame. "I look forward to learning much more from you, Akame."

"I look forward to teaching and learning from you as well." Akame said, returning Tatsumi's smile with one of her own, apparently getting over her embarrassment. "Just remember to come home safely from now on, Tatsumi. You're an important member of Night Raid, after all."

"I will!" Tatsumi said with a wide grin. "I promise you that! I can't wait to work with you more Akame!"

"Okay, that's enough you lovebirds…" Najenda said, as she got Tatsumi's attention. "I think you should probably train under Mine next. You can't just stick to one partner all the time."

Tatsumi's jaw dropped.

"Hahaha, it's just one problem after another for you, huh? Good luck, Tatsumi! You're gonna need it!" Leone teased, lightly punching Tatsumi in the arm while laughing her butt off.

"H-Her?" Tatsumi said, as a shudder ran through his body at the thought of Mine training him. _"I have a feeling that this won't turn out well for me."_ he thought.

Unknown to him, the pink-haired sniper who was just mentioned was feeling extremely flustered at the sudden announcement. Mine looked down on the floor, her face hidden from everybody else.

" _Training with Tatsumi… what should I do? What am I gonna teach him? He's already very skilled in almost every way and he didn't even had a hard time while training with Akame! What if he already knows guns and other firearms? Wait, I think I could also learn a thing or two from him, because he fights incredibly… and not to mention, he's hot as well… NO! Get a hold of yourself! Okay, when we train, I'm just going to go over the basics of shooting and if in case, he already knows about them, I could just take that opportunity to know more about how he fights against others using only his bare hands…"_ she thought to herself.

* * *

 **(Two Days Later; Night Raid's Training Grounds)**

"Again!" Akame commanded, as she began to unleash a barrage of attacks with her training sword. Tatsumi was focused on parrying and blocking as best as he could while he dodged and ducked underneath the girl's incredibly fast strikes. "You're getting faster with a sword Tatsumi, but…" the brunette was then forced to just leap back a few times to avoid her renewed flurry of attacks. He didn't even realize the tree root that was sticking out of the ground when he landed for the third time that he tripped over and fell on his butt afterwards. Akame stood in front of him and pointed her practice sword at his throat before putting it away almost immediately. "You still need to be a little faster in dodging the opponents' strikes. Strong Style won't save you all the time and I think you are also aware of that."

"I know, but am I improving?" Tatsumi asked as Akame outstretched her arm to help him get back up on his feet.

Tatsumi grabbed her hand and she pulled him back up. "Yes you are. At a rapidly increasing rate, that is. In the few days I've been training you, you've improved drastically that I sometimes wonder what else could I teach you." Akame said, as she turned on her heel. "Well, we better head inside and start on breakfast. I'm getting hungry."

"Sure thing Aka —"

"Tatsumi!" Akame and Tatsumi both turned to see Sayo running towards them with a huge smile on her face.

"What's up, Sayo?" Tatsumi asked, planting his hands inside his pockets as he looked at his childhood friend.

"Look, I'm sorry that I didn't get to talk to you properly last night… it's just that I was too tired to even try and approach you that I immediately collapsed on my bed when I reached my room." she apologized, a blush taking over her face as she tapped her feet together. Ever since they were kids, Sayo always had a crush on Tatsumi, which only strengthened until they grew up; it was only due to them leaving their village that she didn't focus on her affections for a while, because they had to work for their village's sake. However, now that she was reunited with her friend after he _saved_ her from a near-death experience, her feelings have only grown even stronger than before.

"No worries. I was tired as well when I reached the hideout…" he said with an embarrassed grin, rubbing the back of his head afterwards.

"Looks like you still haven't gotten over your love for sleep," she teased. "But you're like a robot when you wake up though! Not even Ieyasu can wake up earlier than you and cook breakfast, not that I'm complaining about your cooking though." she added with a chuckle, causing him to have the same reaction as well.

"Well, I can't help it." he shrugged. "Ever since I've been sent to that training camp, I had to wake up early to cook my own meals."

"So that's how you became skilled in the kitchen, Tatsumi. I must applaud you for being a good cook in your own right. I am proud to work with you by my side in the kitchen." Akame said, bowing slightly which caused the boy to sweat-drop.

"Oh, it looks like Akame's becoming sweet with you… last I checked, she rarely shows any emotions…" she smirked at him. "Are you sure you didn't do anything to her? This seems a bit suspicious to me, Tatsumi. Is there something going on between you and Akame?"

"It's just in your imagination! Nothing's going on over here!" he denied immediately, which got both Sayo and Akame to chuckle at his weakness when it comes to girls.

"Yeah, yeah. Also, congratulations on your first mission, which was a huge success Tatsumi. I don't think I could've done something like that. I'm proud of you."

"That makes me happy hearing those words from you, Sayo." he replied, quickly getting over his embarrassment. "I hope that you do as well as I did on your first official mission too. We both know how you liked to kick some Danger Beast ass during all those times that we went hunting together."

"Hahahaha… those were the good times, weren't they?" Sayo said as a grin spread across her face. "Anyway, speaking of Ieyasu, where's that idiot hiding? I bet he'll be happy to see me." However, the girl was surprised to see a saddened expression form on Tatsumi's face. "What's wrong Tatsumi? Did something happen to Ieyasu?"

"I-I'm so sorry Sayo." Tatsumi said, clenching his fists tightly. He had thought at first that Sayo would never ask about their dear friend because it would be too much for her to handle, but now he can't even bring himself to tell a simple lie to save her tears. "But Ieyasu didn't make it. The people who captured you both, the damn mother infected Ieyasu with Rubola's disease."

Sayo's eyes widened.

"He… he died in my arms, when I came back to rescue both of you." he said, his hair covering his eyes while Akame was looking at him from behind with concern. During the past few days that Tatsumi had spent here in the hideout, Akame had grown to like his company even more that her usually stoic self could be completely forgotten around him and she would act more natural or human. Of course, this all started when Tatsumi and her had that heart-to-heart talk in the middle of the night where her respect for him grew even larger with his resolve whenever he experiences something that makes him feel down.

" _Tatsumi… I hope you don't go back on your word."_ the red-eyed assassin thought to herself, hoping that her unknowingly secret crush would be strong and get through this without being emotional at all.

"Oh my God… Ieyasu…" Sayo breathed out, as she cupped a hand over her mouth. Tears began to pour from Sayo's eyes, and Tatsumi quickly pulled her for a tight hug as she buried her face into his shoulder. The cheerful Sayo earlier had been forgotten as soon as she learned of her friend's demise. "D-Did he at least get a proper burial?" she choked out.

"Come with me, I'll show you…" he said, grabbing her hand and leading her back to the hideout. However, he first stopped and turned to look at Akame. "If you want Akame, you could head on to the kitchen first. I'll catch up and help you after I'm done with this."

The girl shook her head. "I'll come with you, Tatsumi. Who else would watch your back this early in the morning except for me?" she asked sarcastically, which managed to get the brunette to smile in amusement, something which she clearly wanted to happen.

* * *

 **(Night Raid's Base; Tatsumi's Bedroom)**

"There he is." said Tatsumi, pointing to an urn at the top of the spare drawer beside his own, which was right beside a picture of Ieyasu himself. "Just earlier, about four in the morning, I went to the capital and then to Aria's mansion. When I got to the shed where they kept the tortured people, it reeked of dead people there and I knew that I couldn't bury him properly anymore. So I had no choice but to burn the whole place along with Ieyasu the other bodies there. Then, I got his ashes inside that urn earlier before I left to train with Akame."

"So that's why I saw you waking up earlier than me. I am truly sorry that you had to do what you did, Tatsumi. I understand how you feel." Akame stated, placing a hand on the brunette's shoulder and her eyes slightly widened when he held her right hand gently.

"Thanks, Akame. Thanks for being by my side ever since… I don't know how could I have ever deserved a friend like you." he said, squeezing her hand softly that made her blush deeper before he turned his attention back to Sayo, who slowly approached the little memorial that he made for Ieyasu as she touched the urn nervously.

He walked forward and went towards his childhood friend and hugged her from behind with one arm. "I'm sorry, Sayo… I couldn't do anything to help him… but that's why…" he moved away from her before he clenched his fists and a determined look appeared on his face. "I won't rest until this corrupt Empire is gone for good! I promise that I'll bring justice to Ieyasu's death and all the other people who died because of this land!"

Sayo turned to look at him with a sad smile before she wiped away her tears. "You shouldn't be blaming yourself for what happened, Tatsumi… it wasn't your fault to begin with, anyway." She grabbed the urn from behind her and held it close to her chest. "At least Ieyasu is still here with us, even though we can't see him… _**(A/N: Ieyasu is the new John Cena lol)**_ and since we're assassins now, we shouldn't let our emotions dictate our actions, right? You said it yourself, not to live in the shadows of the past and treat everyday like it was your last, right?"

"Yeah, I did. We'll bring this Empire down with the help of Akame, Leone, Boss, Lubbock, Mine, Sheele, and Bulat!" _**(A/N: I know how Tatsumi refers to Bulat and Leone, but understand that this is only the beginning of the story.)**_ He looked at Ieyasu's picture at the top of the drawer before grinning. "Ieyasu would've definitely wanted us to fight for what's right… and I won't let him down!"

" _His resolve hasn't changed at all… even though he just had to go through another tough part in this job, he is still able to smile like what he told me…"_ Akame thought to herself with a smile, feeling inspired at an emotional level with Tatsumi's strong resolve.

"Yeah, I think that's what he'll want us to do as well… I can just picture him saying that right now!" she turned her head to look at Akame, who was still standing by the doorway and waited for them to finish since Tatsumi was supposed to help her in the kitchen. "Speaking of which, you should go and help Akame, Tatsumi… her poor stomach might be itching for food right now and you're the only one who can help her." she teased.

"Haha, yeah you're right…" the young man said embarrassingly as he turned around to face Akame. "Sorry if we took too long, Akame… I hope you can still go and make breakfast with me, though. It wouldn't be easy without you there, and the others enjoy your cooking very —"

"I don't think so!" Sayo, Akame and Tatsumi turned to see Mine walking through the hallway before stopping in front of the brunette's room. "Our training starts now, Tatsumi! Forget about preparing breakfast because you're coming with me. Get ready, because we're heading to the capital."

"The capital? Why are we going there? An assignment or something? " Tatsumi asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"It's bad enough that I'm stuck training you! I wish it could be Sayo instead! So don't start questioning me!" Mine exclaimed, crossing her arms as she turned to head back into her room that Tatsumi had to rush out into the hallway just to hear her next words. "Hurry up and get ready, because we're leaving in fifteen minutes. I'll tell you why we're in the capital when we get there."

"Sorry Akame, but I guess I can't help you make breakfast today." Tatsumi sighed, rubbing the back of his head as he turned to Akame.

"It's fine." Akame said as she looked at the other girl in the room. "Hey Sayo, can you help me with breakfast?"

"Uh, sure thing! I'm not as good as Tatsumi in cooking, but I know how to make delicious meals for myself." Sayo replied, putting the urn back on the drawer before walking towards Akame.

"Excellent. Then, this will be the first part of your training under me." Akame said, as she led Sayo towards the kitchen but not before sending her secret crush a smile. "Good luck, Tatsumi."

"Well, I better get ready…" Tatsumi sighed once again, walking inside of his room to fix himself up for his training. "Somehow, I feel that this day is not gonna turn out well for me… eh, I could just mess with Mine if she's planning something crazy or anything…"

* * *

 _ **Starfall's Info card (Side effects) :**_

 _ **There are 3 attacks along with the Trump card that can be used by the user in a fight. However, he/she can only use either of them for a total of 8 times, similar to the number of planets in the Solar System.**_

 _ **Each time that a special attack is used, 10 years is subtracted from the user's lifespan because the attacks utilize the body's life force. If all 8 times have been used up, the user dies immediately. Each special attack can vary in destructive power and strength according to the user's wishes, so that only one special is necessary to finish a battle.**_

 _ **However, there is a certain way for the user to regain the lost years of his/her life from the sword but it is risky and it will most likely take years before happening.**_

 _ **Harem: Akame, Sayo, Leone, Sheele, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**

 **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**

 **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***

 **-Lance**


	6. Kill the Shot

_**Guest: The talk was NEEDED to make Akame trust in Tatsumi more and create a deeper connection.**_

"Normal Talking"

 _"Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters…**_

* * *

 **(Four Hours Later; Imperial Capital)**

"I was just here a few hours earlier, but here I am, back in the capital…" Tatsumi said with a displeased look, as he glanced at the crowds surrounding him. "Hang on, the people earlier looked like they didn't give a shit, but right now, everyone seems so sad."

After having a quick but delicious breakfast courtesy of Akame and Sayo, both Tatsumi and Mine set out for the capital. During that period of time, the brunette had interacted more with the other members of Night Raid since he felt that he had been paying attention to only Akame lately, which was something that gave Leone something to tease him about for the rest of the time that him and Mine left before they eventually left for their assignment. It was also the time when Leone exposed Bulat as gay, which was something that he took offense to yet he didn't deny, causing Tatsumi to evade him for the rest of breakfast time.

"Well it makes sense, because they're under the government's boot and a lot of people are going against it." Mine pointed out with a shrug, walking ahead of Tatsumi to lead him through the crowd. "Now stop looking around so much because it'll make you seem suspicious and weird. I already told you that one of the reasons we came to the capital, is so that I can teach you how to be stealthy and inconspicuous. You have to blend in with the crowds perfectly, so you won't draw any unwanted attention towards yourself. Got it?"

"Right, right…" Tatsumi said, as he caught up with Mine. He knew that it was not the right time to mess with her, especially when they could be seen by a lot of people. "So, is it really okay for us to be walking around in broad daylight like this? Aren't you worried that people might recognize you?"

"Pfft, nah." Mine scoffed, pointing to a series of wanted posters on a nearby wall. "The only people on the wanted posters here are Akame, Sheele, Bulat, and the Boss. Lubbock, me, and Leone are free to walk around the capital when we want."

"Wait a second…" Tatsumi said, as he peered at the middle poster. The man looked like Bulat in a way, but at the same time it was totally different. "You're telling me that's Bro?! What the hell happened to him?!"

"Yeah! Now stop yelling! We're supposed to inconspicuous, dumbass! " Mine hissed, slapping Tatsumi on the arm. Releasing an annoyed huff, Mine crossed her arms over her chest once again. "He changed his image after joining Night Raid, of course. Can't you take a hint?"

"That's a pretty big change though…" Tatsumi commented as he took one last look at the wanted poster.

"Well, now that that's cleared up we still have a mission to complete, newbie." Mine said, her arms crossing behind her back as if she was being a leader of some sort.

"You're the boss, Mine. So, you go on and lead the way! " Tatsumi replied in a cheerful tone.

"Alright! Our mission today is to check up on the capital's current condition. But remember, we can't be suspicious when making our observations, Tatsumi." Mine said, turning towards a nearby shop. "If you do well, I want to see how you fight like a rock for myself and maybe do it myself, or whatever." she shrugged.

"I have a bad feeling about this…" Tatsumi said upon noticing the place where the pinkette just went into. "On the other hand, I didn't expect Mine to be interested in Strong Style as well… but, I kind of doubt that she could be strong enough even for just a single punch…" he muttered to himself as he slowly followed Mine into the clothing store.

 **(Three Hours Later)**

"Mmhmm, we sure bought a lot…" Mine said with a contented smile, sipping some of her tea happily. "I just knew that pink would be this spring's trending color."

"Sure thing…" Tatsumi said as he took a few deep breaths in slight exhaustion. The young man had been dragged around by the pinkette for the past three hours going from store to store and buying ludicrous amounts of clothes, which Tatsumi was forced to carry. He had no problem with carrying the shopping bags, but he just didn't like the fact that they moved from shop to shop just for Mine to look and check the same clothes over and over.

However, Tatsumi didn't particularly dislike this when Mine started modeling some of the outfits, and she even asked for his opinion on some if she should get it or not. Internally, he could admit that she really looked cute in almost all of them that it was impossible for him to be angry with her any longer. Every time that Tatsumi would give his honest opinion on how she looked, Mine could be seen blushing brightly before she would let out a huff then smile as soon as she turns around.

"Ah, it's so nice to kick back and relax after everything…" Mine said, setting down her tea cup. "Well good job Tatsumi, mission complete." she said in a cute tone that got him to blush in surprise.

"W-What…" Tatsumi said as he looked at her questioningly. "H-How did we complete the mission, if I may ask? All we did was buy clothes the whole morning." he pointed out as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"It wasn't just a shopping trip, Tatsumi. We just used a shopping trip as a cover up, so we could do our observations without looking suspicious. Didn't you remember that I'm supposed to teach you about stealth and being invisible to enemy eyes?"

Tatsumi's eyes slowly widened in realization.

"Look at the street corner behind you, but don't take too long… just a quick peek, Tatsumi." Nodding slightly and doing as he was told, the brunette quickly glanced at the corner behind him. However, the only thing he saw there was a normal-looking man standing there, seemingly reading a newspaper. "You may be thinking that that guy doesn't look suspicious, but he's been following us ever since we arrived in the capital."

"Damn, I didn't notice… I was too focused on you that I didn't sense his presence… does he know we're a part of Night Raid, though?" Tatsumi asked, as he noticed a hidden sword on their stalker's hip.

"No, but I'd bet he is an informant for the government here. He probably heard you yelling about Bulat earlier, and decided to scope us out for awhile." Mine said, taking another sip of her tea as she narrowed her eyes at the man behind Tatsumi.

"Shit… I'm so sorry, Mine. I almost got us caught… if I just haven't shouted out like a damn idiot earlier, this wouldn't have happened…" Tatsumi said in an apologetic tone, as he rubbed the back of his head. "I guess I'm not as stealthy as you think I may be… because I'm not really perfect and I have my own flaws."

"It's fine Tatsumi, you just have to be more careful from now on. We're assassins, so you must be vigilant of what's happening to you all the time. Besides, I'm here to train you, and that's what we're doing. This'll be a good learning experience for you." Mine said, causing Tatsumi's eyes to widen. "As soon as I finish my tea we can go. Like I said earlier, you did rather well despite screaming like an idiot about Bulat. So I think it's my turn to fulfill my end of the deal, but be sure that it's going to be worth it."

 _"Did she just… is this really Mine? She's like a completely different person!"_ Tatsumi thought, as he stared at the girl with wide eyes. _"I expected her to yell at me for messing up then complain and I'd just mess with her after… but, she's...she's actually being nice to me… great, now I'm wondering why this side of her doesn't show up more often."_

"Alright, let's go." Mine said, setting down her empty tea cup before she stood up and walked towards him. Tatsumi raised an eyebrow when she suddenly offered him her hand. "Well… what are you waiting for? Hold my hand."

"W-Why?" he asked as a slight blush spread across his face.

"Ugh, don't get all… worked up. That strange guy's still w-watching us until now. S-S-Since I made you carry everything that I bought, it p-probably made you l-l-look like you were my b-b-boyfriend." Mine stuttered out at the last part, causing Tatsumi's blush to deepen. "So, o-obviously you need to hold my hand… just to make it look like we're a couple right now."

"Okay…" Tatsumi said, taking a deep breath before he hesitantly reached out and took Mine's hand. _"Her hand… so soft… and small… okay, just calm down… you've already been in situations way worse than this, Tatsumi."_ he thought to himself.

"Now, let's get out of here." Mine said as she shook her head, leading Tatsumi down the street. The pinkette kept her face hidden as they walked, so Tatsumi wouldn't notice the fierce blush spread across her face. _"I'm holding Tatsumi's hand… it's so warm… and soft too… GAH! I'm so embarrassed right now… are we… looking like a real couple right now? NO! I mean… I can't believe that I actually let him hold my hand, not that I'm really complaining about it…"_

"Hey Mine, what's going on over there?" Tatsumi asked as he noticed a large crowd that had suddenly gathered to their right.

"Eh? Hmm, it's probably just a public execution for someone who challenged the authority of the Empire." Mine replied, snapping out of her trance before walking beside Tatsumi towards the edge of the crowd. "It's a pretty normal thing to see in the capital these days, so there's nothing interesting about it."

"T-That's sickening…" Tatsumi said, shaking his head as he covered his mouth with his hand. In front of the two were several people crucified in the middle of a highly populated area and dozens of people were gathered around to gawk at the gruesome display. As Tatsumi stared at the horrifying demonstration, he suddenly thought about Sayo and Ieyasu for a brief moment as his face became a lot more serious than before. " _I promise to you two… I will do whatever I can to change the future… anybody who's close to me will never be harmed again!"_

"Tatsumi, calm down. You have to maintain your composure." Mine whispered, gently squeezing Tatsumi's hand. "The people here in the capital are used to seeing things like this, so they aren't affected by it anymore like they used to be."

"R-Right." Tatsumi said, as he turned his head away from the disgusting scene. "I have to keep calm and collected…"

"It's because of the minister that things like this happen nearly almost every minute." Mine said quietly, hanging her head so that her pink locks were covering her eyes. "It was thanks to his underhanded tactics that the current young emperor won his seat on the throne. But I… I definitely won't be killed like them." Mine looked at him with a defiant expression on her face. "I'll survive this… and see this fight to its bitter end."

 _"Mine… such determination… so it's the minister all along, huh? He must be some kind of monster!"_ Tatsumi thought, before Mine tugged on his arm.

"Come on, we've seen enough of this." Mine said, leading Tatsumi back onto the main road out of the capital. As they walked, Tatsumi would occasionally glance around to try and see if they were still being followed but after a few more minutes, Tatsumi figured he must have given up on them as he couldn't see the man anymore.

"Hey Mine, I don't think that guy is following us anymore. So you don't have to hold my hand any —" Tatsumi said as he tried to release Mine's hand. However, he eyes widened slightly when she held it even tighter.

"I want to be sure, so just wait until we're out of the capital, okay?" Mine asked, not turning to face Tatsumi. _"Damn it, I can't tell him that I actually like holding his hand."_

"Uh, sure thing Mine." Tatsumi said, as he let Mine guide him out of the capital.

* * *

 **(Four Hours Later; Back at Night Raid's Hidden Base)**

"Alright, I promised you that I'd try out whatever you call your way of fighting but I need to ask you something first." Mine said, leading Tatsumi into a semi-hidden room near the back of Night Raid's base. Upon entering the place, Tatsumi saw several human shaped targets in what appeared to be a long hallway.

"Mine, what exactly is this place and… what are we doing here?" Tatsumi asked as he watched Mine walk over to a nearby chest.

"This is our shooting range. I always go here for some target practice." Mine said, rifling through the chest's contents. The pinkette smiled when she found what she was looking for. "To answer your second question, I'm going to show you how to properly shoot a gun." The boy was surprised when Mine pulled out a pistol and offered it to him.

"Uh, I already know how to shoot a gun because of the training camp I've been sent to, but sadly I'm more of an unarmed fighter currently training to be a sword guy…" Tatsumi said sheepishly, as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Are you now? Well, I'm gonna put that to the test shortly. If you can prove that you really are, we can move on and proceed with what you have for me, okay?" Mine asked, earning a nod from the boy. "Now, a great assassin must be well versed and knowledgeable in a variety of weapons and fighting techniques, yours included even if I've never seen it before. You have to be able to quickly adapt to what's around you, and use any available weapons if the situation calls for it. You can laugh all you want, but I know how to defend myself without a weapon, and I know my way around a sword and how to fight with it. It just so happens that I am more skilled in firearms."

"That's a bit surprising still…" Tatsumi said as he grabbed the pistol and turned its safety on. Mine nodded in approval and he continued on with loading a fresh magazine inside it.

"Hmm, looks like you really do know the basics…" she muttered, looking to the side to hide her blush. " _What should I do now? He already knows how to use a gun… ah, forget it. I'll just get this over with and see how training under him is like… I heard that Akame has been working hard while under his tutelage."_ she thought to herself before speaking again. "Well since you already know about firearms, I don't see any point in teaching this all over again. I guess it's time for the fun part, then. Step up to the firing range."

"All right, then." Tatsumi as he went to the platform that was directly connected to the many training targets inside the room and aimed his gun at the one that was directly in front of him. _"Piece of cake…"_ Tatsumi thought, closing one eye so that he could focus on his target. He took aim at the bullseye on the target's chest and after taking one last calming breath, Tatsumi gently squeezed the trigger. With a loud bang, the gun fired. " _This is over."_

"Hmm… damn it, you win." Mine sighed as she observed the bullet hole directly through the bullseye; the bullet itself was stuck on the bullseye of the next target, and that alone was enough information to tell the pinkette how skilled Tatsumi was. "Akame was right about you, you learn quickly and adapt to amy situation well."

"Really?" Tatsumi asked, feeling a rush of confidence.

"But don't think that you'll be better than me, newbie." Mine gloated, as a smirk spread across her face before she started to head for the door. "Well what are you waiting for? You know how good you are in shooting, so let's get out of here already. A deal's a deal, so let's go to the training ground so I could see how you fight up close and personal." she said, looking back at him and stopping just at the door.

"Wait, what about this gun I'm holding? I-Is this yours? Should I put it back?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, you know how to use guns, right? You decide what do with it." she said nonchalantly as she walked away. "You could bring it with you, or you could just put it back in the chest. Your choice."

Tatsumi looked at Mine before looking back at the pistol he was holding. "Hmm, I should hold onto this baby just in case the situation calls for it… okay, time to show some stiffness to a Strong Style virgin…" Tatsumi thought with a grin, as he brought it with him before heading out the room.

 **(Night Raid's Base; Training Grounds)**

Tatsumi spotted Mine just sitting on top of a log, cleaning her teigu, _**Pumpkin**_. He decided to sneak up on her from behind and surprise her; with his speed, he managed to walk just behind her before throwing his arms out wide in a scary expression.

"Boo!"

"KYAAAAAA!" Mine shouted in surprise as she grabbed her teigu and turned around to see who was behind her and possibly kill him/her if it was an enemy. The familiar scowl on her face appeared once again when Tatsumi fell on his back and started laughing his butt off. "You jerk! Why did you have to sneak up on me like that?!" she growled, clenching her fists in anger as the blush on her face deepened.

"Hahahahahaha, oh your reaction was priceless! You really got scared just by a simple jumpscare? Come on, it wasn't even _that_ scary! But I just can't help but remember how funny you looked!" he replied, tears welling up in his eyes due to how hard he was laughing.

"I hate you…" she huffed, turning away and pouted while the deep blush she had started to lessen its shade. " _This guy just likes to mess with me, doesn't he? Good thing it's only us out here, I'd die of embarrassment if anyone catches me screaming like that…"_ she thought to herself.

"Okay, now that that's done, time to get down to business." he said, suddenly standing up from the ground and began to brush the dust off his clothes. He went in front of her and patted her head softly, causing her to widen her eyes slightly before looking up with the color on her cheeks becoming deeper than before. "So, are you ready to start some training in unarmed fighting? This is gonna be tough, especially for you."

Tatsumi hissed in pain when Mine suddenly punched him in the stomach before he fell down to one knee as she crossed her arms and pouted cutely. He looked up at her as she began to speak:

"I can take it, I'm not a crybaby… and as long as you don't sneak up on me like that again." she huffed out before the brunette stood back up on his feet again.

"Okay, let's get started then." he began, sitting down on a log that was close to the one she was sitting on. "First things first, the name of the style I use…"

* * *

 **(Two Hours Later)**

For the next few hours, Tatsumi taught Mine about his mysterious fighting style called Strong Style and if she was honest with herself, learning the whole thing by itself kind of scared her but she didn't want to look weak in front of him. However, when Tatsumi started to demonstrate the stiffness of his strikes against a random tree trunk, that was when she started to become really nervous because she didn't know how painful it would be when it would be her turn to try and give it a go.

Finally, when it was her turn to try it out, she suddenly started to shake in nervousness because of what would happen if she did try to punch the wood with all her might. Would she break a few bones? Will her hand bleed? Can she even scratch the tree just a little bit? It reached to the point where she couldn't take it anymore and ran back towards Tatsumi, who was watching her all along and he was surprised when Mine gripped his shirt tightly and buried her face into his chest, a few tears escaping her eyes while saying how she was weak when it came to strength and fighting without weapons at all.

Tatsumi did not hesitate to pat her on the back in order to comfort the pinkette and said that he was expecting her not to punch the tree at all. That particular thought confused Mine and instead of explaining, he just told her to forget everything he said about punching the tree trunk and held up his hands afterwards, inviting her to come at his hands instead.

While she was a bit hesitant to continue with this Strong Style training and just give up, Mine tried to go for it nonetheless and for the past hours, all they've done was work on the girl's strength and muscle coordination because that's what she's been lacking at the moment. They didn't even go back to the tree to have Mine try it again because that could make her faint at any second, but it was a good start to her training anyway.

"Well, today you've been a good student." Mine said as she wiped the sweat off her face with a towel he gave her, a faint blush dusting her cheeks. "And to be honest, I thought that I could never learn something under you because of how brutal and harsh your training is but after seeing how you went for something else instead of just punching the tree, you had it. It felt good passing on some of my knowledge and it must have felt good that you taught me as well, isn't it?" she asked.

"You said it… well, I'm glad I was able to help you with something even though I didn't really teach you Strong Style per say… sorry about trying to make you punch a tree though, but that was like, the only way I know how to see how strong you were." he said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

Mine smiled at him, completely forgetting about her initial coldness towards him during their first days together. "Don't worry about it. I'll just have to graduate from punching your hands before I face a tree again…" she started to laugh sheepishly afterwards. "Listen, I know I was pretty hard on you the first few days you've been here, but now I actually look forward to working with you more, Tatsumi. You're not such a bad guy, after all."

"I look forward to working with you as well, Mine." Tatsumi said with a large smile on his face as if he just met the pinkette recently and forgot about the foolishness they've been involved in ever since.

"Hey you two." a new voice called out, interrupting them both from their little chat. Mine and Tatsumi turned their heads to see Akame walking towards their spot, with _**Murasame**_ ready for some action on her belt. "Get ready, we have a new mission. I'll brief you two on the way there. Mine, you'll be paired up with Tatsumi for this one."

"Would you look at that? Well, let's get to it." Mine said, grabbing _**Pumpkin**_ and slung the weapon over her shoulder. "Looks like you might get to use that pistol you have sooner than you think."

"Wait, how did you know that I took it?" Tatsumi asked in surpise.

"Instincts. Now come on, we have a mission to do, newbie." she said in a teasing way, something that Tatsumi didn't seem to notice because he was too focused on the pinkette walking away.

"Well you know, I'm technically still under your command, so lead the way." he shrugged, following her closely behind.

"All right when we get out in the field, I'm going to need you to be my spotter, so be sure to watch my back. Although I would prefer Sayo to be partnered with me for this, this'll be a good practice for you." Mine explained. Way in front of them, Akame looked at the two with a slight smile, feeling glad that they were getting along instead of annoying each other like hell.

The three assassins headed towards Night Raid's meeting room, where the rest of their members had gathered. As Tatsumi entered the room, he saw Sayo standing off to the side. The dark-haired girl looked a bit exhausted and was somewhat covered in dirt.

"Hey, was Akame roughing up on you in training?" Tatsumi asked as he went to his longtime friend.

"No," Sayo replied in an embarrassed tone, her cheeks burning into a dark shade of red. "Just a bit tired, cause I just came out of the medical bay. But since Akame was very understanding, she was actually very patient with me and went easy."

"Then why do you look like a mess?".

"Well…" Sayo rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. "You see… uhm, Akame led me to this hidden pond and… when I tried to jump into the water I… kind of landed a bit awkwardly…"

"Oh… that's a bit unfortunate then… you shouldn't have jumped in immediately." he sighed, massaging his forehead in slight irritation.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry… I guess I got a bit carried away." she said, looking to the side with a blush. "I'm just gonna take a nice, hot bath after the meeting so I'll be good to go for this mission. That should be enough to get rid of all this."

"Just try not to do it again, otherwise you might end up receiving worse than you would… you didn't get any injuries when you fell?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"No, I just messed up my appearance a bit… nothing worse than that, honest." she answered, shaking her head repeatedly.

"If you two are done fooling around, we have a mission to complete." Najenda sighed as she walked into the room, causing the two to shut up in their places immediately. The Boss sat on her usual seat and began to brief everyone on their latest mission. "As you've all heard… we have a new target." she pulled out a small picture of the said target and laid it on the table. "The target this time is a distant relative of the minister. His name is Iokal." Najenda pulled out a knife and stabbed it into through the picture in front of her. "He takes advantage of the minister's name to kidnap young girls and beat them to death afterwards. He has five guards who have a share in the leftovers and they're just as guilty as him. This is a very important mission, so everyone is in on it."

She turned her attention to each of the members after her little explanation. "Mine, you're with Tatsumi for this mission. Sheele, you go with Sayo. Leone, you'll be partnered with Akame and Lubbock and Bulat will be the last team. The mission is simple. Eliminate Iokal and his bodyguards and make sure that they are dead. Is that clear?"

Everyone nodded with fire in their eyes.

"Alright! You know your targets! Get out there and rid the world of those scum!"

"Yes, Boss!" Everyone cheered in unison, rushing to prepare for the mission.

* * *

 **(Three Hours Later; with Mine and Tatsumi)**

"So that's Iokal's home, damn it's crawling with guards. It almost made me go down there and attack them head-on…" Tatsumi grinned as he stared at their target's home through a pair of binoculars.

"I can nail him easily from here, so there's no need to go get yourself killed." Mine said, adjusting the dials on her scope. "I'll blow his head clean off as soon as he shows his ugly face."

"And I'm here to watch out for enemies after you kill him." Tatsumi said as he checked his pistol to make sure it was fully load and ready. After making sure he was, he went on to make sure that _**Starfall**_ would be easy for him to equip even if it was behind him. "Don't worry, I got your back."

"Tch, I'm not really looking forward to it. Just shut up and let me concentrate." Mine told hin off, scoping in on the house's grand entrance.

 _"She's so focused… and she's taking this really seriously."_ Tatsumi thought, turning around to look at the pink-haired sniper. _"I can feel her determination just from a simple look…"_

"I've got eyes on the target." Mine suddenly said, which managed to get Tatsumi to snap back into reality and out of his thoughts.

"Alright, I'll take a look as well." Tatsumi said before raising his binoculars. Luckily, he immediately spotted Iokal leaving his home. However, there was the problem; the man was surrounded by a group of women who didn't look like they were targets. "Mine, there's a bunch of non-targets around him." he informed her.

"Then shut up and let me do my thing. I won't hit any innocent people." Mine said sternly, her finger gently resting on _**Pumpkin's**_ trigger and waiting for the shot to be fired.

"Okay then, I'll —" Tatsumi was cut off when Mine suddenly fired. The brunette quickly raised his binoculars to the bullet, and he watched in awe as Mine's shot passed safely through the women's heads, and hit Iokal right between his eyes. The target's head immediately snapped back as blood spurted out from the gaping hole in his head. "Woah, I can't believe you got him…"

"See… I'm a genius sniper." Mine gloated, resting _**Pumpkin**_ on top of her shoulder in a cocky pose. "Now, come on let's get to the rendezvous point." she groaned afterwards, remembering how far the rendezvous point was from their location.

"Oh, if you want…" Tatsumi said as pulled out his sword and held it in front of him. "I can fly the both of us to the rendezvous point so we could save time. What do you say?" he suggested.

"Woah, seriously?" she asked incredulously, her eyes widening slightly. "You can do that?"

"Well, I can fly however I want to when I'm by myself, so what would be the difference if I'm with another person?" he said, offering her his hand and she was about to consider it when she suddenly remembered that she was terribly afraid of heights.

"I'd rather not…" she stated, turning her head away so he won't see the embarrassed look on her face. "Besides, how can we be sure that nothing would go wrong, anyway? You've never tried it before we don't so we don't know if it can handle two people at the same time…"

"Aw, there's nothing to be afraid about!" he said, suddenly grabbing Mine's hand out of nowhere that caught her by surprise before _**Starfall**_ started glowing yellow. "Let me handle this!"

"Wait, Tatsumi! You don't understand! I have this terrible fear of HEEEEIIIGGGHHHTTTSSS!" she screamed in the end because Tatsumi and her have already took off from the ground, which caused her to hold on to him as tight as she could, unable to look around her because they were too high up in the air to do so in a safe way.

Below the location where the two assassins were located earlier, Iokal's guards, accompanied by a few more, sprinted through the woods in a desperate search for the assassin that killed him.

"No matter what happens, we have to find the assassin!"

"If he gets away, the minister will have our heads on a pike!"

"There's no way he could've gotten that far! Keep looking!"

However, the guards came to a skidding stop when they encountered six people waiting for them. A busty blonde haired woman was at the front of the group; a wicked grin spread across her face. "Nice of you boys to drop in and join the party. Now it's time for you to take a trip to hell!"

 **(Five Minutes Later; with Tatsumi and Mine)**

"Ugh, I swear… you're gonna get worse than just a smack the next time you do that…" Mine complained as they walked the rest of the way to the rendezvous point. They were about to reach nearly about three-quarters away from the rendezvous point until Mine couldn't take it anymore and demanded that they land, something which Tatsumi questioned her about and got him a smack on the head in return that made him immediately drop to the ground.

"Well, I had to do what I thought was right to prevent us from getting discovered…" he rolled his eyes in return." Anyway, do you think the others can take those guards out? They look a bit different than ordinary ones." Tatsumi asked, walking behind Mine.

"Those guards were trained at the Temple of the Imperial Fist, so you're right about that. To answer your question, the others may have a little trouble taking them out." Mine said, ducking underneath a low hanging branch.

"You're talking about the number one kung fu temple in the empire, right?" Tatsumi asked.

"Well, I guess when you're related to the minister you can afford some badass bodyguards. Iokal could get away with anything he wanted because of his blood ties and that's what pisses me off the most about him."

 _"What the hell happened to this girl back then? She seems to have a rather sad childhood like I did…"_ he thought, giving her a small boost to climb up a small cliff by getting on his knees.

"Well since you've exceeded my expectations today, I think I'll tell you a little bit about my past." Mine said, helping him to climb by offering her hand to pull him up.

" _What do you know? I might get to know about her sooner than I thought…"_ he said to himself, climbing up the cliff.

"I was born near the nation's western border." Mine revealed, her voice taking a serious turn. "I'm actually half-tribal. In town, I was mocked and ostracized. Nobody would accept me, so you could say that we're a bit similar in what we had to go through. It was truly a wretched childhood, but even I'd go far to say that I didn't suffer as much as you did, so I guess I'm still pretty lucky. Sorry about my words, by the way…"

 _"Mine… you too?"_ Tatsumi thought, continuing to listen to the girl.

"But… the revolutionary army is allied with the tribes to the west." Mine continued, tightly clenching her fists. "Once this war is over and we make our new nation, diplomatic relations will finally open. People of mixed blood like me will enter the empire… and there won't be anymore children who'll have to suffer the way I did… and I won't let anyone discriminate me anymore!"

 _"Looks like her dream is on its way to being fulfilled then… who knew that's what she wanted this whole time?"_ Tatsumi muttered with a smile creeping its way to his face.

"But when the revolution is over, I'll receive a ton of compensation and I'll retire a celebrity!" Mine exclaimed, letting out a loud laugh afterwards.

"And… that's the end of it…" Tatsumi sighed.

 **(With the Other Night Raid Members)**

With a loud crunch, Leone broke the jaw of the last remaining guard. Pouncing on the battered and dying man, she quickly snapped his neck to ensure a quick death. When Leone got off her prey, she let out a contented sigh.

"Ah! I feel so refreshed!" Leone cheered, wiping the blood clean off her claws. "I had a lot of pent up aggression today!"

"They were pretty strong!" Sheele commented with a small smile as she slung her scissors onto her back.

"Ha, they had no chance against an expert like me!" Sayo bragged, jumping down from a tree branch before she slung her bow over her shoulder and stretched out her limbs for a little bit.

"It's quite odd…" Akame said, scanning over the bodies of the dead guards. "Weren't there supposed to be five elite bodyguards?"

"Damn, I didn't get to kill anyone." Lubbock whined.

"That's because you weren't quick enough." Leone said, as she shrugged her shoulders. "Or you're just not a good assassin, pervert."

"What?!" Lubbock exclaimed, glaring at the busty blonde who began to laugh at her own statement.

"Something is a bit out of place here…" Akame said as she gripped her sword tightly. "We need to get to the rendezvous point now."

"What's up, Akame?" Leone asked, walking up to the red-eyed assassin who seemed to be in a dilemma right now.

"I just have a feeling that the last guard slipped past us and is heading towards Tatsumi and Mine's position." Akame said, as she clutched a hand over her chest, feeling disheartened at the thought of something bad happening to her friends. "We have to get there fast, and make sure they're okay."

"Lead the way girl, I'm right behind you." Leone said with a smile, before following Akame into the woods. " _Although I wonder what she's thinking… I think Tatsumi can handle a guard even without trying because of his training and not to mention, Mine's skill… Akame, what are you really up to?"_ she finished in her thoughts.

 **(With Tatsumi and Mine)**

"Hey, I can see the rendezvous point now." Tatsumi said as he pushed through a few bushes.

"I guess that's mission accomplished." Mine sighed happily, approaching the large tree which represented the rendezvous point.

"You do know that we would have reached this place way earlier if you didn't demand that we land, right? And it's not yet over until we give our report!" Tatsumi said with a stupid grin on his face.

"Tch, you've been spending too much time with Miss Perfect Akame." Mine said, as a small smile spread across her face. "Seems to me like there's something going — EEEPP!" Mine yelped when Tatsumi suddenly shoved her out of the way.

"Get out of the way!" Tatsumi screamed as he blocked an incoming punch before getting kicked away for a short distance since the young man had his arms up to lessen the damage he'll take.

"Tatsumi!" Mine exclaimed in panic, running towards the brunette to see if he was okay. The pinkette's eyes filled with rage before turning to face Tatsumi's attacker. She wasn't even surprised to see one of Iokal's guards staring her down. "You bastard!" Her eyes narrowed when she recognized the guard's face. "You were the Temple of the Imperial Fist's assistant instructor ten years ago. No wonder you managed to get past everyone else and made your way here…" she gritted her teeth.

"That was a pretty impressive shot little girl, but now I have to kill you and your little friend." the guard said, cracking his knuckles before flashing a smug look.

"We'll see about that." Mine said, as she unslung _**Pumpkin**_ and took aim at the guard, not noticing Tatsumi was already gone from her side. "You've definitely fallen in status since then!" Mine opened fire on the guard, but to her horror, her enemy managed to dodge everyone of her shots. "N-No way!"

"I got expelled for bad behavior!" The guard exclaimed with a small laugh before charging towards Mine. "I'm going to hand you over to the minister alive so he can toy with you all he wants… So prepare yourselves, especially you."

"There's no way that's happening! Not if I have anything to say about it!" Mine yelled as she reached back for the small knife she always carried on her.

"RAGGHHH!" The guard was distracted when Tatsumi suddenly clung on to him from behind. The brunette tried to lock him in a sleeper hold, but the large man threw Tatsumi off himself with ease. "Stay the hell away from Mine!" Tatsumi said, recovering immediately before reaching for the pistol on his hip.

"You little shit! That was pretty sneaky!" The guard shouted, as he charged towards the young man instead. Whipping out the small firearm, Tatsumi quickly aimed it right into one of his enemy's legs. The guard's eyes widened as he fired before falling to one knee, blood spurting out from his other leg.

Tatsumi immediately charged towards him again and managed to successfully lock in his sleeper hold, and the guard wasn't even trying to fight back anymore due to losing consciousness. "Mine! Finish him off!" he exclaimed, releasing the man from his hold before walking away.

"Akame was right about you, for being a rookie you ain't half bad, Tatsumi. You got to use that pistol too." Mine said with a smirk as she took aim with _**Pumpkin**_ and fired. Her shot went straight through the guard's temple, killing him instantly.

"Well, I _was_ trained by a genius sniper, right?" Tatsumi complimented, cracking his neck before he approached her and gave her a thumbs-up. "Nice work, Mine."

"I can say the same for you." Mine said, as she slung _**Pumpkin**_ back over her shoulder. "You really saved me back there."

"Ah, well… that's what friends are for, right?" Tatsumi asked with a toothy grin, extending his fist towards Mine.

"Yeah… you're right on that." Mine said with a smile before bumping fists with Tatsumi.

"And you were worried about him. Geez, I wonder why…" Leone teased Akame, while they watched the pair from a nearby treeline. The red-eyed girl didn't respond, and simply kept her gaze locked on Tatsumi as if she was a predator scouting for prey, although a small blush could be seen on her face up close.

* * *

 **(A Few Hours Later; Imperial Capital)**

"Just like me… they're all assassins who use teigus…" a chilling voice whispered as the man stared at Akame's wanted poster with a twisted grin on his face. "How delightful… they're causing quite a fuss around here…"

"Hey, you there!" a patrolling guard shouted as he aimed his pistol at the large man at the end of the alleyway.

"You look suspicious! Don't make any sudden movements or we'll make sure you're gonna wish you've never been born!" The first guard's partner called out, unsheathing his sword. In the blink of an eye, the suspicious man had taken out his own blade, and decapitated both guards. Their heads landing on the ground with a sickening plop, their blood staining the entire alleyway, even splattering the man himself with it.

"Either way…" the man said with a sadistic and evil smile. "The capital seems incredibly easy to navigate. And there's just so many people for me to slaughter… this is truly delightful!"

 **(Same Time; Night Raid's Hidden Base)**

"Well, this wasn't a bad day at all." Tatsumi said, as he slipped on a fresh shirt after a nice hot bath. "I thought that training under Mine would be a pain in the neck, but it looks like I was wrong… anyway, I'm back to training with Akame tomorrow, so everything's gonna be —" he was cut off from his words when he heard somebody knocking on his door.

Getting off his bed, he went to open it and he was honestly surprised when he saw Akame just standing there, dressed in her pajamas and holding a pillow in her hands. "Tatsumi, can I come in?" she asked, looking up at him with a faint blush dusting her cheeks.

"Um… sure…" Tatsumi replied as he rubbed the back his head with a blush of his own, curious as to why would the red-eyed assassin would be in his room at this time of night.

Tatsumi led her to sit on his bed as he sat beside her while thinking about possible explanations why would Akame show up in his room right now. When his thoughts have reached the point where he imagined him and Akame in lewd situations from this point onward, he shook his head immediately to snap himself out of it.

" _There is no way that would ever happen!"_ he said to himself, taking a glance at Akame who had her gaze locked to the door in front of her. " _Why is she here anyway?"_

Tatsumi having lewd thoughts involving him and Akame wasn't weird at all at this point, to say the least. For the past days that he had been in Night Raid with everybody else, it was Akame whom he had spent the most time with so far despite their initial treatment to each other as enemies. It all started when he treated her wounds that he inflicted on her himself before he reminisced about his past in front of her and everybody else, which led to the two having a heartfelt conversation that resulted in both understanding one another at a deeper level and ended with them sleeping beside one another.

He never knew it, but he was slowly getting attracted to his red-eyed comrade.

Why wouldn't he be? He was a regular boy behind all the assassin work and she was just a girl as well behind the cold killer that she is. And a boy would have to 'swing the other way' to be disinterested in Akame.

But that was a story to be told for another time.

"Tatsumi…" Akame took a deep breath after that one word.

He looked at her instantly, noticing that the silence between them has been broken. "Y-Yeah? What is it?" he breathed out, his lip trembling due to nervousness.

Akame's grip on her pillow tightened before she finally turned to him with a cute look.

"Can I sleep with you?"

* * *

 _ **I. AM. EVIL. HAHAHAHAHAHA.**_

 _ **Next chapter, we'll have a new member joining the gang and Tatsumi's first girl is gonna take her place in his harem.**_

 _ **Hope you like the Mine moments.**_

 _ **Harem: Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Sheele, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	7. Kill the Blindness

"Normal Talking"

 _"Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters…**_

* * *

 **(Later That Same Night; Capital Streets)**

"P-Please don't kill me!" a young woman pleaded, as the hand around her throat tightened, which made her try to pry the man's grip off her. On the ground next to the woman was the decapitated body of her boyfriend; the blood oozing from his neck staining the road in the process.

"Such a naughty, naughty girl. It's your fault for walking around at late at night. Don't you even care that something bad might happen to you?" the man said in a pitiful voice, his fingers digging into the young woman's neck. "Didn't your parents ever warn you of the monsters that come out at night?"

"I-I'll do anything you want! Please… please just let me live…" the woman begged, tears freely flowing down her cheeks as she was fast approaching her last moments.

"Oho, you'll really do anything?" the man asked, causing the young woman to rapidly nod her head in response. "Well, I love to talk, so why don't you entertain me? Then, maybe I can reconsider what you've done and let you go."

"W-We can talk! I'll talk with you as long as you want!" she exclaimed as she felt the man's grip on her neck loosen ever so slightly. The woman thought she might finally be free from his grip… but that was until the man asked his first question.

"What does it feel like to have your head chopped off?" he asked, earning a confused look from the young woman. "Does it hurt? Or do you feel absolutely nothing?" In the blink of an eye, a large blade extended from the man's arm and sliced cleanly through the woman's neck so quick that the woman didn't even feel the blade hit her skin, before her lifeless body fell to the ground. "I guess you really don't feel anything." he shrugged, before a twisted smile flashed on his face. He dropped the woman's decapitated head on the ground next to her body, as he licked the blood that spurted onto his fingers. "Mmmm, how utterly delightful! I just can't seem to help myself! I need more!"

 **(The Next Morning; Night Raid's Base)**

Tatsumi groaned as he slowly awoke from his slumber. But when the young man went to rub his eyes, he found out that he couldn't move his right arm. Cracking a single eye open, Tatsumi nearly screamed when he saw Akame lying in the bed with him, sleeping peacefully. Tatsumi then noticed that she was hugging his arm and clung to it like a child, while her head was so dangerously close to his shoulder. The young man's entire face burned bright red when Akame suddenly snuggled closer to him.

 _"What the hell?! What the hell?! What the hell?!"_ Tatsumi frantically chanted in his head as he tried to remember what happened last night. _"Calm down, Tatsumi… she's still in her clothes so we didn't do anything bad. Let's see… what happened last night? Oh yeah that's right, Akame wanted to sleep with me because she couldn't sleep alone and bad dreams keep haunting her."_

"Tatsumi…" she breathed out while still deep in her sleep, catching his attention. "Get back here and help me with dinner…"

" _What the heck? It doesn't seem like she's havin' a bad dream at all… and why is she holding on to my arm? Damn it Akame, let go of me…"_ he tried to take his arm back but the girl only tightened her grip, lessening his chances of escape. " _Oh, come on! What the hell is going on with her?! Shit, what if she wakes up? Oh, save me! She'll surely pummel me repeatedly and literally cut me to pieces! And then the others would say that I took advantage of her… wait, how did she hold on to my arm in the first place? I remember we were on opposite sides of the —"_

"Good morning, Tatsumi." Akame's voice snapped Tatsumi out of his thoughts and he turned his head to look at her. She had already released his arm and she was sitting up from the bed; her blood red eyes quickly locked with his emerald green ones. A small smile spread across Akame's face and he blushed a bit before he smiled back in return. "Thank you for letting me sleep with you last night. I wanted to see if sleeping beside you would help relieve me of those bad dreams I've been having lately."

"Well, I'm glad to help then…" Tatsumi said, his face still burning red due to embarrassment before he rubbed the back of his head. _"I shouldn't mention anything about what just happened… she might not know it, and the last thing I want to happen is for her to know…"_

"I'm glad you feel that way, because I plan on doing it every time I have a hard time sleeping." Akame said with a small smile.

"Wait, why would you even want to sleep with me in the first place?" he asked in confusion. "Shouldn't you go to Big Sis, Sheele, Mine, or even Sayo instead?"

"Do I make you uncomfortable when I lay in bed with you?" she asked in her usual monotone voice.

"No, that's not it! I-I mean… it's just a bit awkward between us since you're a girl and I'm a guy… it's just… it's just a normal thing for girls to be around each other often instead of boys… it'd make us seem like a couple or something…" he whispered out his last words with a blush, but it was something that Akame was still capable of hearing.

She lightly chuckled. "We're assassins, Tatsumi. I don't think our lives can be _normal_ again." she simply replied yet she had something else in her mind. " _Keep going Akame… this is just step one in claiming your man for yourself. If what I'm feeling is right, then I must do this to get him to notice me. I know for a fact that this should be embarrassing for a woman like me, but I can't let that hold me down. I'll tell him what I feel during our training later on and I can put this exploding feeling in my heart to rest."_ she thought to herself.

"Oh… I guess that makes sense, then…" Tatsumi muttered, sweat-dropping afterwards. " _Still, it's pretty awkward for us to be together… what do you want the others to say? That we're officially together? This girl and her awkwardness sometimes…"_ he sighed.

"Now come on, we have to start our morning train —" Akame was cut off when the door to Tatsumi's room suddenly swung open. Both assassins blushed bright red when Leone waltzed into the room with a large smile on her face.

"Well, well, well what do we have here?" Leone asked as she skipped over to the bed with her eyes full of amusement. "Tatsumi, why is pure and innocent little Akame in your bed? Did you two have a steamy night full of passionate lovemaking?"

Tatsumi yelped and immediately shook his head in panic.

"We did nothing that relates to that, Leone. All I did was sleep in the same bed as Tatsumi because I was having nightmares last night. As you can see, we have our clothes on. Now why are you here, Leone?" she asked, standing up from the bed and crossing her arms. " _She must have done this on purpose to get Tatsumi to herself…"_

"Oh, you're no fun Akame!" Leone whined. "I was just trying to tease you both a little… oh well, you win." the blonde girl sighed and walked back over to the door with a cute pout. "The boss called us all in for an emergency meeting, so you'll have to skip your morning training for the day. From the looks of it, it seems pretty serious in my opinion."

"We'll be right there. And Leone, please don't tell anyone about what you just saw or I'll pour hot sauce all over your tongue." she tried to threaten, which only got Leone to start laughing as she left the room. " _Looks like my plan to tell Tatsumi what I feel during training has backfired… I need to find another way…"_

"Your little secret is safe with me, lovers. Try not to take _too much time to yourselves_ before heading to the meeting, okay?" Leone said before giving the duo a sultry wink before leaving the room. However, Tatsumi didn't miss the sensual sway Leone put into her hips and shook his head yet again to get lewd thoughts out of his mind, and this time it was about the blonde-haired Lionel user instead.

Leone sighed as she entered the hallway and began to make her way to the emergency meeting. _"Looks like Akame's gonna get to Tatsumi first at this rate… oh but remember this, Akame… you won't be the only person to have him, so don't claim him to yourself. I'll get him soon enough…"_ Leone licked her lips as she squeezed her thighs together to contain her arousal. _"You'll be my mate Tatsumi and I will be yours… I don't care even if I have to share you with anybody else."_

 **(Five Minutes; Night Raid's Meeting Room)**

"Everyone, we have a new target." Najenda said, sinking into her usual chair. "He is a serial killer who's been terrorizing the capital as of late. The killer only appears late at night and beheads all of his victims as his way of killing. We have no way of knowing how many people he's killed, but by our sources, he's screwed up at least over forty people by now."

"Wait, most of that number is filled up by guards, right?" Tatsumi asked, which caused Najenda to nod in response. "Then he must be pretty strong."

"There's no doubt about it then. This killer must be Zanku the Executioner, if my hunch is correct." Lubbock said, causing Tatsumi to quirk an eyebrow.

"Zanku… the Executioner… who the heck is that?" Tatsumi asked as he raised an eyebrow, which caused Mine to groan in annoyance.

"Hey, I don't know who he is either…" Sayo pointed out, sheepishly raising her hand.

"You both really don't know? Man, you really are some innocent souls from the countryside." Mine said, pinching the bridge of her nose afterwards.

"Excuse me…" Sheele suddenly piped up, getting everyone's attention. "I don't know who he is either."

Mine shook her head and sighed. "Sheele, I think you just forgot who he is."

"Can you just get to the point, Mine? Who's this Zanku and how does he exactly spell trouble for us?" Sayo asked in an annoyed tone, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Fine, fine. Well like we said, his name is Zanku the Executioner." Mine began, closing her eyes as she began to explain everything. "He originally worked at the largest prison in the empire… as the executioner. Because of the corrupt minister… he was never short of people to execute. All day… everyday… almost without resting… over and over… they say that he beheaded all these people who were begging and pleading for their lives. And then after years of the same thing over and over… beheading became as natural to him as breathing."

"Okay, I think I'm starting to regret asking about it…" Sayo muttered, feeling a sudden chill run down her spine.

"So...beheading for the jail just couldn't satisfy his bloodlust anymore, so he took to the streets." Mine said, as she reopened her eyes.

"As soon as a team was dispatched to find him, he seemingly disappeared from the public." Bulat chimed in, locking his eyes onto Tatsumi from across the room. "But… I never imagined he'd ever show up in the capital."

"Then that makes him a dangerous psychopath who needs to be dealt with." Tatsumi said, nodding. "What should we do then?"

"Well, Zanku stole a teigu that belonged to the current prison head in the capital. At this very moment, he's out loose on the streets with it so that makes him a powerful enemy that going alone to face him is suicide." Tatsumi looked away when Bulat suddenly cupped his chin. "We have to act in groups consisting of at least two to people… or else we could be put in danger."

 _"I feel that I'm in more danger right now for a whole different reason, actually."_ Tatsumi thought after he saw the sparkles in Bulat's eyes. "Uh… I got it, Bro… teams of two. Hehe… anybody want to partner up with me?" he asked, internally hoping that somebody would be able to save him from his _situation_ right now.

"Boss, I'll be on a team with Tatsumi." Akame offered almost immediately, earning her an annoyed look from Leone and surprisingly, Mine. Tatsumi's eyes widened slightly when Akame suddenly grabbed his hand and led him away from Bulat, before confusion took over him once again, wondering why was the red-eyed beauty acting weird lately.

 _"Damn it! First she sleeps with him, now she wants to be partnered up with him!"_ Leone thought, as she released an annoyed huff. _"Okay, I need to be patient… it's not like it's the end of the world for me yet. I'll find a way to make him mine. Just you wait, Tatsumi."_

 _"Oh come on! I wanted to team up with Tatsumi!"_ Mine thought, glaring at the back of Akame's head. _"This is great, just when we are both getting along nice and well, Akame comes in to be there for her pupil. Well, Tatsumi is her pupil as well and they are — GAH! Just… calm down and let this slide… there will be plenty of missions for us to get partnered up together."_

Sayo giggled to herself, sending Akame, Leone, and Mine mischievous looks. " _Looks like Tatsumi is working his charm already and he doesn't even know it's happening… Hah! The same reason why he never knew that he had so many fangirls back in the village that had a crush on him."_ She crossed her arms and smiled slightly. " _Well, as long as all of them would be willing to share, I'm not gonna step in and make my presence known."_

"Alright, Tatsumi and Akame will be one of the teams." Najenda said as she lit a cigarette. "The other teams shall be Leone and Sheele, and Bulat and Lubbock. Mine and Sayo, you'll be picking a high vantage point and provide overwatch for all of the teams. If you spot anything suspicious, be sure to signal them so nothing bad happens to anyone. Got it?"

"Yes, Boss!" the two snipers sang in unison.

"Good, you all remember your teams?" the Boss asked and everyone nodded all at the same time. "Then go out there and hunt down a serial killer! Make him pay for his crimes!"

 **(That Night; Empire's Capital)**

Akame whistled a short tune as she scanned over a map of the capital. Her blood-red eyes swept over a large colored area of it and she took in a deep breath. "Looks like we're in charge of watching this whole area." Tatsumi approached Akame and looked at the map over her shoulder before she continued speaking. "We have the second largest section to cover, so we need to be extremely careful of our every move, as he could strike at any moment."

"I wonder if those civilians didn't come out on account of the killer…" Tatsumi said, checking on his pistol, the one that he got during his training with Mine yesterday. After making sure that it had a full magazine, he placed it back in its holster. "I wonder what should I use against —" Tatsumi stopped himself from speaking any further when he heard the sounds of numerous approaching footsteps. "Akame… you hear those?"

"I hear them too." Akame replied before they quickly dove into a nearby alleyway to stay out of sight. The girl then spotted several capital guards run past the alley's entrance. "Okay, this changes things. We'll have to watch out for the capital guards as well and make sure they never see us." When Akame sensed that the coast was clear, she

After a few minutes, when they realized that the guards were all gone, they continued on their mission. "Hey Akame, there's something I've been meaning to ask you, before we fight Zanku." Tatsumi said, rubbing the back of his head.

"If you're worrying about snacks, I brought some for us." Akame said, pulling out a few candy bars. " _Did he figure out that I wanted to be partnered with him on purpose?"_ she thought to herself.

"No, that's not what I want to talk about." he said, chuckling lightly as he watched Akame unwrap a candy bar and begin to cutely nibble on it. "I was actually wondering what exactly is your teigu and what can it do."

"This…" Akame said, as she raised her sword. "… is the teigu, _**One-Cut Killer: Murasame**_. I thought you already know that." Without any further explanation, Akame returned to eating her food, internally sighing in relief that he didn't have any suspicion about her sudden offer back in the base earlier.

"Uh… I still don't really get it." Tatsumi deadpanned.

"My teigu lives up to its name. Anyone who even knicks my demonic blade will have a cursed poison enter their body, bringing sudden death. Hence, it is a one-cut killer."

"So… that means that that sword of yours is pretty awesome. It almost makes you seem invincible."

"Hardly, but it does have a weakness." Akame revealed as she laid the sword across her lap.

"Which is?"

"I have to be extremely careful when I'm cleaning it. If I even slightly cut my finger while I wiping the blade, I'm dead." she said in a joking tone. "So when I'm in battle, I have to directly cut my enemy for the curse to work effectively."

"So that means, it would spell trouble for you to kill someone wearing an armor like Bro's." Tatsumi said in realization, rubbing his chin.

"This world is a place where you have to make your first cut count… it might just be your ticket to victory. In every battle I fight on, I have to be quick and inflict the first strike however…" Akame said, as she gazed down at _**Murasame**_. "Like Leone and the others, I can't entirely rely on my teigu to fight my battles for me."

"You're saying that the weapons all of you carry are teigus?"

"Yes." Akame replied, as she placed her hands on her hips. "All of us except the Boss have one."

"Okay, now I'm curious… what teigus do you all possess?" Tatsumi continued his questioning, causing a small smile to spread across Akame's face. "I'd like to know, so that the next time I get partnered up with either of them, I can think up a strategy on how I could work with them properly."

"I knew you'd ask that." Akame said as she sat down on a nearby bench before inviting the brunette to sit beside her. Tatsumi didn't hesitate to take the blank space next to her and eagerly waited for her to speak. The young man idly noticed that Akame rested her hand on top of his, and interlocked their fingers together, causing him to blush deeply at her bold action.

" _What the heck is going on with her? Akame's acting really weird lately… it's almost as if she's being clingy like Leone is! W-Wait, don't tell me that that's true… the last thing I need is a stoic glutton who sticks to me almost all the time with all sorts of shenanigans. But… I can't imagine Akame being like that… okay, I need to calm down… just calm down…"_ he said to himself, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

"Leone's teigu is known as, _**Animal King: Lionelle**_. It's the belt she's always seen wearing. Her teigu transforms her into a beast, and it greatly increases her strength and other physical abilities, which makes her a tough opponent to beat. It also strengthens her sense of smell, which makes her an excellent scout for recon missions."

"Does she get any other animal-like characteristics?" Tatsumi asked as he remembered how the busty blonde had been acting rather clingy and seductive lately.

Akame rubbed her chin in curiosity. "No, I don't really know. She mostly acts normal in front of us but we have no idea on what's happening with her if she's alone. It's a possibility, but we have no real proof of it."

"Dang," he said to himself. He had thought that he might get a clue to Leone's weird behavior if he asked Akame about it, but he never thought that even the girl who seemed like the closest one to the _**Lionelle**_ user would know nothing about it. " _Looks like I'll have to deal with this problem on my own then…"_

"Mine's teigu is the firearm, _**Roman Artillery: Pumpkin**_. It turns the user's spiritual energy into a powerful blast to be fired on an enemy. I'm sure you've gotten a hint of how it's used last night."

" _ **Pumpkin's**_ destructive power becomes stronger and stronger depending on the state of the situation she's in." Tatsumi finished and Akame smiled in response.

"Exactly… now who else is left… let's see… right, Sheele's teigu is the _**Cutter of Creation: Extase.**_ It's a giant scissors-like teigu that can cut anything in the world in half. It's also extremely sturdy and durable, so it can also be used as a shield to block attacks."

"Okay, that sounds scary and awesome at the same time…" Tatsumi said, feeling a sudden chill run down his spine.

"Lubbock's teigu is, _**Infinite Uses: Cross Tail**_. It's an extremely durable thread teigu that can entangle an enemy or enemies as a lethal trap, or it can be spread out to sense incoming intruders. His wires are actually spread out all around the hideout to detect any unwanted visitors."

"So that's how Lubbock found out about those mercenaries when they found our hideout when I joined…" Tatsumi murmured, reminiscing about his first battle as an official member of Night Raid.

"Lastly is Bulat's teigu, _**Demon Armor: Incursio**_. It's an armored teigu that provides an almost unbreakable defense for the ultimate protection. However, it also puts a heavy burden on its users; if an untrained person tried to use it, they'd die afterwards. _**Incursio**_ can use special properties from the danger beast it was made from, and turn invisible for short durations." Akame finished.

"Wow, you guys have totally awesome teigus right there…" he commented, whistling in amazement. "I wonder if I could ever find my place among you all…" he muttered to himself afterwards, which Akame could still hear quite clearly.

"What do you mean?" she asked, munching on another candy bar.

"Well, considering the fact that you've probably hung around with each other for longer than I thought, you guys know each other well that even you can state all of Night Raid's teigus and their abilities. It must mean that you guys are used to each other, and it makes me wonder if the same would happen to me or not."

"Tatsumi, don't think of this in that way, okay?" said Akame, placing her hand on top of his shoulder. "You've already found your place the moment you decided to join us, so there's no need to worry about that. As for working with us, we'l just have to see what the future holds in store for us, right? Haven't you realized it yet? I wanted to pair up with you for this mission because I wanted to see how well we could work together." she half-lied.

"Oh right, come to think of it, Boss said that we are supposed to be partners right?" Akame smiled and nodded in response. "Well, I never really thought of it that way… I thought you just wanted to team up with me because we are like student and teacher or something…"

"Let's just say that I am doing what that legend is trying to point out." she teased, causing Tatsumi to chuckle in response. "But really, you don't have to question your place in Night Raid, Tatsumi. We see you as an important comrade, so don't forget that."

"You're right about that… thanks, Akame. Really, thank you. You've been there for me ever since I joined and you gave me your trust even though I was just a complete stranger back then." he said, momentarily forgetting about their mission and held her hand tightly, which caught her off guard for a second before she smiled as well, enjoying the short but sweet moment with her not-so-hidden crush. " _I gotta admit, this wasn't so bad after all."_

Both assassins sat like this for a while, letting a moment of silence wash over them as they simply enjoyed each other's company.

* * *

"We should've known he wouldn't just come and jump down on us." Tatsumi sighed, taking a sip of his soda before he groaned in annoyance. "Man, I'm starting to get really bored… can't I just fly around the whole place and look for him then? That gives us an advantage, right?"

"You can't. If the guards see you glowing like a bright light in the night sky, they'll be suspicious of it and they won't stop until they figure out what's behind it. We'll just have to be patient and wait it out, Tatsumi." Akame said, taking a bite out of her fourth candy bar for the night. "Just keep your guard up."

"Uh… I'll be right back, Akame." Tatsumi said, feeling something build up inside him before he quickly got up off the bench so he could get rid of it.

"Gonna take a leak?" Akame asked which made Tatsumi blush bright red in embarrassment, before nodding through the red color that his face showed as he left, with the red-eyed assassin keeping her eyes locked on to him so she'll knew where to find the brunette.

Just atop a clocktower about a few blocks away, a lone figure surveyed the area surrounding him. Zanku had a twisted smile on his face as he used the teigu on his forehead to observe Akame and Tatsumi from a distance.

"Hmm, that scene was so touching that I might get a heart attack." Zanku said, watching the two assassins share a brief moment to themselves. "First, there was a killer. But now, assassins are on the prowl at night. This town is one seriously dangerous place, and I need to cleanse it." the executioner's twisted smile grew as he observed the other assassins in the area. "And now to the fun part, who should I behead first?" He then spotted four possible targets he could attack. "Should I go for the two snipers who's providing overwatch? Or what about the blonde lioness and the purple-haired scissor user? No…" Zanku began to chuckle like a madman when he spotted Tatsumi. "I think I'm going to go for the tastiest morsel first."

* * *

Tatsumi walked through the night time streets, his face looking desperate for a possible alleyway he could. As he quickly passed through the mostly empty city streets, he then heard a girl's voice.

"Ahoy there, citizen! You look like you need assistance!"

Tatsumi turned his head and spotted a guard moving in his direction. Stopping his movement for a quick second and his eyes glaring at the figure due to being pissed off, the figure stopped before him and saluted. "I am Seryu of the Imperial Guard, good citizen! You seem lost around here! Can I be of assistance?"

"No." Tatsumi said. "I know where I'm going. Your assistance is not required." Tatsumi growled out, remembering that it wouldn't be a good move to talk to a person of the Empire while on a mission as well as the fact that he didn't trust the government of the capital.

Seryu, at first, was a bit angry at the way she was spoken to but even she could tell that there was a tinge of pain in his voice. He obviously wasn't in a good mood, and thus she continued her motives to help a citizen any way she can.

"Could you tell me what is wrong, citizen? I can help you!"

"I said no thanks!" Tatsumi said, sprinting away from Seryu, who was stunned for a short moment before she ran as well, engaging in a hot pursuit of Tatsumi.

Dashing through a nearby alleyway that he found, Tatsumi quickly made his way to the rooftops, using his speed and athleticism to his advantage as he climbed up the walls which were close to each other. He would've opted to use _**Starfall**_ to fly away right now, but then it would be unpredictable on where he could possibly end up on due to how fast his speed in flight was. When Seryu rounded the corner, she kept going forward and went the other way; Tatsumi looked down from above and sighed before heading back onto the streets to resume his search of a new alleyway.

Finding a new one just down the street, Tatsumi walked into it and proceeded with his moment of privacy, and the brunette breathed a sigh of relief afterwards. "Ah, that's the stuff… finally free from all that…" Just as Tatsumi zipped up his fly, he heard footsteps at the other end of the alley. Turning his head, Tatsumi's eyes widened when he saw Sayo grinning at him. "S-Sayo?" However, before Tatsumi could say anything else, Sayo took off, running away from sight. "Wait, where are you going?!" he said, following her.

* * *

 _"Oh, come on… what's taking him so long?"_ Akame asked herself as she went to the alleyway where she last saw him go through. Her eyes widened when she saw that the alley was completely empty with no sign of her brown-haired comrade anywhere. "Shit, where did he go?!"

* * *

"Sayo, come on. Now's not the time to play games." Tatsumi said, catching up to his childhood friend in the middle of a large plaza. The girl stood in front of him, smiling cutely before he narrowed his eyes in doubt. " _Something's not right…"_

As quick as a rabbit running at its top speed, Tatsumi pulled out his pistol, and fired several shots at Sayo. Before the bullets could hit however, the dark-haired girl was then replaced by a large imposing man. Two dangerously sharp blades extended from the his arms, and blocked the incoming shots.

"Your trick's pretty lame, try a different one next time." he taunted.

"How?!" Zanku asked, glaring at Tatsumi with hatred and anger burning in his eyes. "You were supposed to see someone you loved yet you shot without hesitating!"

"I don't know what the hell that was, but it made a mistake." Tatsumi said as he loaded a fresh magazine into his gun. "The person I saw is someone I do love… but even I know that she's not foolish to leave a comrade alone while we're out to kill a certain bitch. So your mind games have no chance to work on me, Zanku."

"Oh, so you know who I am? I do love prey who has at least, a little fight left in them for to entertain me before I kill them." Zanku said as Tatsumi unsheathed his sword. "It's seems you've been separated from your little partner… should you hold me off and wait for backup…" Tatsumi's eyes widened as the executioner continued to speak. "Or are you going to fight me head-on and end this… is what you're thinking, isn't it?"

"Shit! Can he read my mind?! Is that eye thing on his head his teigu?!" Tatsumi thought, causing a large smirk to spread across Zanku's face.

"Bingo! It's the teigu, _**Spectator**_. One of its five senses is called, Insight." Zanku explained, as he tapped the weird-looking eye on his forehead. "Just by simply looking at your expression, I can know your every thought. It has the ultimate power of perception… and I think you deserve a prize for guessing right. How about I hang your head over my fireplace when I go back home?"

"Geez, can't we just move on from this?" Tatsumi rolled his eyes before taking a defensive stance. "I gotta say, you sure love to blabber about anything you find interesting."

"Talking happens to be a certain hobby of mine." Zanku shrugged. "While I'm still at it...the way I found you was the power of, farsight. Whether at night or through the thickest fog… I can see clearly over great distances!" Zanku's smirk disappeared when he barely managed to sidestep in order to prevent a sudden attack from Tatsumi, who was glowing yellow for some reason along with his sword.

The executioner turned around in an attempt to kick Tatsumi on his back, but he dodged the attack and turned around as well. Zanku's eyes widened when Tatsumi revealed the pistol he was holding in his other hand. Raising the firearm, Tatsumi emptied the entire clip at point-blank range. Zanku managed to block most of the shots, but two stray bullets deflected off his blade and plunged into his arm. "GAH! You little fucker! You thought you could get a sneak attack on me while I was talking."

"Never let an opponent distract you on the battlefield." Tatsumi mocked, jumping back to create some distance between the two teigu users.

"Hmm, you're lasting longer than any of my victims recently. I have no idea how and why you suddenly glowed all of a sudden but it seems that sword of yours is a teigu that allows you to fly. How utterly delightful! Entertain me, boy!" Zanku exclaimed, as he glanced at the wound on his arm.

Readying himself, Tatsumi charged forward again; this time with a clear mind. "But it's still no use...I can still read all of your movements." Zanku said, remaining confident that he would win until Tatsumi flew up into the air just before he could even attack the executioner, causing the latter to look up in order to continue following Tatsumi' thoughts.

"I wonder how you can read my movements when I'm as fast as this!" Tatsumi said, landing behind Zanku and started to throw a variety of stiff strikes towards the back of his enemy, rendering Zanku incapacitated for a while before he turned around to catch the young man off guard, but his eyes widened when Tatsumi quickly went behind him again and resumed his work.

"The same strategy, eh? It won't work on me again!" Gritting his teeth slightly, Zanku quickly turned around again, this time managing to deliver a punch towards Tatsumi's stomach, who brought his sword up to deflect the attack. "HAHAHAHA, you can hear them too, can't you?! The voices of those that we've killed… asking us to die and join them in hell…"

The brunette jumped away again to prevent getting hit by Zanku's blades and narrowed his eyes while the executioner grinned evilly as he charged towards Tatsumi, taking the offensive this time. " _I have to outmaneuver this guy… otherwise we might attract attention from guards sooner or later…"_

* * *

Seryu lost Tatsumi within five minutes of her pursuit and she pouted cutely before she decided to just head back to the prison since this was going nowhere.

"Come on, Koro-chan! We'll be picking out some death row prisoners for you to snack on while we're waiting for a citizen who needs help!" Seryu said, rushing off to the prison while carrying a dog-looking teigu in her arms.

Upon arrival at the prison, she was approached by another guard. "Sergeant Seryu! I was doing some checking around Ogre's office and —"

"You what?!" Seryu hissed, fiercely glaring at him. "Who gave you permission to do such a thing?!"

"N-Nobody! I just thought you might like to —"

"To what?! Speak up or I'll have you fed to Koro-chan!" she demanded. The biological teigu had grown bigger in size and was ready to eat the man as a whole.

"I found his journal! I thought you might like to read it!" the guard replied out of fear bringing out a small notebook from his pocket. "But I only read a page of it! It was talking about how he adored you!"

Seryu grabbed the notebook from him before the guard ran away in panic, his thoughts on survival from the woman. She opened it to a random page and she spotted a name that was familiar to her.

"Gamal." she snarled. "He was killed about the same time as the Captain… but what did Captain Ogre have to do with that slime ball? He's a good-for"

The girl was well aware of Gamal's appetite for whores. He had tried to hit on Seryu back then but got shut up when she threatened him that he'll lose both his arms and legs if he tried to lay a hand on her. He apologized then and there and she never saw him or heard from him again. Sighing deeply to herself, Seryu took a seat on a nearby chair while she sending Koro off to eat three prisoners put in the death row. While hearing the screams of pain from those unfortunate souls, Seryu began to read more and her eyes were tearing up.

" _Captain Ogre… why… how could you do something like this? You… you always told me that the we were the harbingers of justice… but… but you were just framing innocents… why? How could you? For money?"_ she thought to herself. "Damn it!" she cursed, throwing the book onto the wall, causing it to flip to another page. Upon spotting the journal entry that was about her, she picked it up and began to read it in curiosity. Tears began to freely fall from her eyes when she read that Ogre was only taking care of her because of a debt to her late father; he never cared about Seryu at all and only wanted to further his own advancement within the guard and he also used the girl herself for his own twisted purposes.

"No! I can't lose faith in the Imperial Guard!" Seryu stated, putting on a heroic pose before wiping the tears from her eyes. "Justice will always prevail! We are the harbingers of justice!" she continued before a guard came in.

The man saluted to her before speaking afterwards. "Sergeant Seryu! I'm sorry to bother you, but we have spotted the Headhunter! He was last seen heading to the church just a few minutes ago, following some sort of glowing beam of light."

A large smile broke out on the girl's face after hearing his announcement. "Thank you, Private! Koro-chan! It's time for dinner!" Koro stumbled out of one of the prison cells with a burp before Seryu carried him along the way follow her subordinate.

* * *

Upon arrival at the large church courtyard, Seryu spotted Tatsumi dodging strikes from Zanku. She was about to charge in to help the defenseless citizen when she heard the executioner suddenly talk to the boy.

"Come on, Night Raid! Is this all you got?! You will surely die if all you do is dodge and fly around like the coward you are!" the executioner laughed out. Tatsumi tried his best to find a new opening, but he was being forced to fly away when his enemy kept cutting him off and never gave him the opportunity; it was like Zanku knew where he was going to strike. "I know every move you are going to make! You'll never get the chance to attack again!"

While he was trying his best to dodge every attack, Tatsumi suddenly noticed a pattern in Zanku's slashes; he was attacking from the left, right, and from above and prepared himself to roll past him so he could finally get the opening he wanted, but Zanku only laughed evilly after knowing what the brunette was going to do.

"It's no use, kid! I'll just attack the other way then!" Zanku screamed out, lowering his blades before attacking upwards to cut Tatsumi off once again and force him to dodge, but this was exactly what the young man was waiting for.

Tatsumi sidestepped just before Zanku could hit him in the crotch, causing the large man to widen his eyes in shock because of how quick the brunette had reacted to his change of strategy and while he was left stunned, Tatsumi delivered a horizontal slash towards the executioner's abdomen, opening a large wound and blood started to spurt out from his stomach. Reacting quickly, Zanku retracted his left blade and covered his wound, which allowed the brunette to go behind him and slash both of his legs from behind, causing Zanku to fall to his knees in pain.

"RAAAAHHHH!" he screamed out in agony, spitting out a handful of blood onto the ground before Tatsumi locked him in his patented sleeper hold that easily rendered Zanku into a near-unconscious state before he started relentlessly kicking his enemy at the back of his head multiple times to make sure that he won't be able to retaliate. After a while, he finally stopped and ran away from the executioner towards a considerable distance before heading back with full speed to deliver a soccerball kick towards Zanku's chest, causing the latter to fall back to the ground with a resounding thud.

Without even giving it any hesitation, Tatsumi immediately raised his sword and plunged it deep into Zanku's vulnerable chest as the large man started twitching as a sign of his fast approaching death. Blood got splattered all over Tatsumi's clothes as the brunette's hair shadowed his eyes; his hands tightly gripped _**Starfall's**_ handle before he pulled out the sword and cleansed it from Zanku's blood with a single swipe to the right.

"Those voices won't bother you anymore then. I hope you find what exactly you're trying to look for on the other side." he spoke, looking at Zanku as he drew his last breath and died with a small smile on his face. "Unlike me, I can still hear them and I will until I fall." he finished before he heard something growling in front of him.

Tatsumi looked up and spotted Seryu and her biological teigu already transformed into attack mode, ready to go for the kill.

"Koro-chan! Kill the Night Raid member!" Seryu spoke as she pulled out two guns and opened fire. Tatsumi's eyes widened for a bit before he used his sword to fly past the two and back into the city in an attempt to escape. As he flew past Seryu, he made sure to kill every other guard he came across with using his superior advantage in speed as he slashed through everyone there. Seryu narrowed her eyes and began to chase after Tatsumi with her guns blazing. "Koro-chan! Chase him down and don't let him escape!"

Koro transformed into a smaller quad-legged dog and began chasing after Tatsumi like a bloodhound.

Tatsumi wasn't looking back but he knew that he was going to escape this situation with his teigu's ability to make its user fly. He eventually stopped at the center of the capital and tried to look for a way to get away from there without having to fly because if anybody else were to see him glowing like a star in the sky, he'd be wanted all over the capital like Akame.

As Seryu chased Koro who was chasing Tatsumi, the girl's mind began to think about Captain Ogre and how he manipulated her trust but she shook it off and continued her pursuit. But it was only when she heard a woman's scream that she stopped in her tracks. She looked at the alleyway where she heard the voice and spotted an imperial guard being paid by a man in a business suit. The girl who was most likely the source of the scream was knocked unconscious by the guard in front of her who got carried away after the two men finished their transaction.

Seryu blinked a few times before she continued on her pursuit, but she kept her gaze at that certain alleyway, feeling that there was something off about the guard and that strange man.

Upon catching up to Koro who was at the center of the capital trying to locate where Tatsumi just ran off to, Seryu came across another horrific scene at the entrance to a shop. Another imperial guard was being sexually gratified by a young female who was crying and he had a knife at the girl's throat. Seryu growled in anger before she whistled a short blast to summon her teigu back to her side.

"You there! What the fuck are you doing?! What are you doing with that girl?!" Seryu demanded, storming over to the shop with a fierce glare on her face.

"Hey there, Sergeant." spoke the guard with a smug face.

"Captain, what are you doing with a knife to her throat? And stop what you're doing with her! This is inappropriate in the eyes of justice!" she snarled.

"Well, it's the only way to get whores like her to cooperate. You want a try with her?" he asked, smirking at the orange-haired girl as he put his arms behind his head in a relaxing position.

"Koro… time for a little snack…" Seryu seethed, narrowing her eyes at the man in front of her. The guard opened his eyes when he heard something growling and the last thing he saw was a mouth full of sharp teeth that his scream wasn't even heard afterwards.

The girl spat at the guard just before he was eaten out of anger and looked up at Seryu with a smile and tears were running down her eyes afterwards.

"T-Thank you… you… you saved me from… from that monster!" she said.

"No thanks necessary, good citizen. Justice will always prevail! Now, you should get home and rest. You'll be safer inside the walls of your house than here at night when criminals like Night Raid are on the loose." Seryu replied with a salute.

"Yes… thank you! I'll never forget what you've done for me!" the girl said as she ran off into the night.

After sending the young and innocent citizen off with one last smile, Seryu's expression shifted back into a serious one as she turned back to her teigu. "Koro-chan! Let's get back to finding Night Raid!" she ordered.

* * *

Tatsumi had ran for about five miles straight away from the center of the capital so he could either escape the place or meet up with one of the other Night Raid members. He was sitting on a fountain while taking deep breaths. " _I need to find Akame and get out of here immediately. The mission is done and I just need to get back to base. Wait a minute, do Mine and Sayo even know that Zanku is already dead? And where are Big Sis and the others? Aw, don't tell me I have to find one of them myself…"_ he thought to himself.

He sighed and started to walk towards an alleyway before he heard some footsteps halfway and began to run once again.

It was then that he got trapped.

Seryu was inside the same alleyway waiting for him while Koro was in his enlarged form, ready to fight.

"Nowhere to run, Night Raid. You will be brought to justice!" Seryu said, a twisted smile appearing on her face. Tatsumi quickly began looking around for a possible escape route without having to fly and he quickly jumped onto the nearby wall but got smacked to the ground by Koro. Realizing that he had no choice but to fly out of there, Tatsumi drew his sword and prepared to escape but Koro grabbed him before he could and threw him backwards, right into the fountain itself as he fell to the ground.

Tatsumi's sword got thrown to the side due to the force of him hitting the fountain. However, he was able to keep his senses as good as they were by rolling out of the way just before Koro can stand over his body to prevent him from escaping. He got back up on his feet with a kip-up and dove for his sword, holding it tightly in his grasp as he narrowed his eyes at the biological teigu by the fountain, until he heard some footsteps in front of him, causing him to turn his head to look at whoever it was.

Seryu approached the fountain and drew a gun, aiming it at Tatsumi who was in her crosshairs. Turning his attention from the teigu towards the girl instead, he took a deep breath and was prepared to fight back against her when the both of them suddenly heard something strange.

It was when Tatsumi and Seryu heard a cry of anguish that they both turned to look at what could have caused it. At a nearby mansion, the window was wide open and they both could see a girl was being chased inside by a dog before being tackled to the ground by the little creature. The dog sat on top of the female and laughter could be heard all around her. A few seconds later, no more than ten men could be seen approaching her with a hungry look in their eyes and in response, both Seryu and Tatsumi rushed towards the house at the same time and forced their way inside.

Seryu pushed Tatsumi away to make her way inside first and blew two of the men's heads off with her gun before using a nearby chair to smash it onto another man's head, crushing his skull. In the corner of her eye, she saw Tatsumi with his sword, slitting throats and impaling their enemies at an unparalleled speed. About thirty more men appeared from different rooms and floors and charged towards the two.

"Koro-chan! Dinner time!" Seryu screamed out. Only a few seconds later, the walls were sent into splinters as Koro barreled through and chomped down on five other men with one massive bite. This gave them the advantage for the next minute that the whole house was filled with nothing but blood and separated limbs everywhere. The girl who was held hostage had already escaped into the night and she was safe, but the same couldn't be said for the men.

"Koro-chan! Find any remaining men that might still be hiding!" Seryu ordered as the one guy who was still remaining raised a knife above his head to kill the girl from behind but Tatsumi proved to be faster by flying above Seryu's head which allowed him to behead the man cleanly before he landed on the floor. Seryu turned around and saw that the Night Raid who just saved her; Koro was about to eat the brunette but Seryu raised her hand that stopped her teigu from doing so.

"T-Thank you." she spoke softly.

"Your thanks aren't needed." Tatsumi said, sheathing his sword as he walked away to leave, but Koro quickly blocked the door with its massive body.

"You aren't leaving, Night Raid. We have much to discuss." she continued in a more neutral tone, while also trying to hold back the tears threatening to fall down her face.

"Tch, I guess I should have just let him kill you, huh?" Tatsumi said, cursing his luck for this day.

Seryu quickly grabbed Tatsumi by the hand and led him outside towards the fountain where he sat down comfortable before she took a seat next to him. Tatsumi was extremely confused why they were out here in the open when she could just kill him easily and he was even more confused when Seryu suddenly buried her face into his chest. He then felt the girl begin to sob and tremble, her whole body shivering.

"I'm so confused!" Seryu cried into his jacket.

Tatsumi could tell that the girl was troubled and she was heavily conflicted was something that he decided to momentarily tolerate the fact that she tried to kill him earlier. "About what?" he asked in return.

"Everything about this place… I was raised to believe that the empire was amazing… I was taught that my job was to uphold justice and deliver justice to those who deserve it… but… I found out today… the empire was evil all along… Captain Ogre… Gamal… guards taking bribes and raping women… and then these… these men about to let a dog molest a girl then rape her afterwards! I don't get it! Why did it have to be like this?!" Seryu cried, looking up into Tatsumi's green eyes.

Tatsumi patted her back softly and looked at Koro who was now sitting next to her back in its original form, munching on a dismembered hand.

"It's the truth though, the empire is filled with corruption…" Tatsumi began. "I… I thought it was amazing too at first… you know that rich family who got murdered last week along with all their guards?"

He felt her nod in response.

"That family had a history of taking foreigners off the streets and playing with them. The little girl living there had a knack for torturing people, especially females, while her mother played doctor and infected people with different kinds of diseases…" Seryu felt Tatsumi's fist clench from behind her. "They took away two of my friends… and it was a damn miracle that I saved one of them, but the other one… ARGH! I won't allow myself to cry over him anymore… it's not what Ieyasu would have wanted…" he said, gritting his teeth as he steeled himself to prevent the tears from flowing out.

"But… if the empire is like this… then I can't fight alongside it anymore! I can't bring myself to hurt innocent citizens like what other guards have been doing… I'm going to leave tomorrow morning! I will not work for a government as corrupt as this!" she shrieked out, clenching her fists weakly as she lightly sniffled. "But… where am I supposed to go after this? I don't know what to do!"

"Heh, you know you could join us…" he offered, causing her to look up at him again. "Yeah, I know that us Night Raid members are assassins, but we do not harm any innocents. We target the source of all this corruption, which stems from the capital and ultimately… from the minister himself. I know that we are not entirely good people, but we do fight for what's right. We aim to finish this war with the minister's head on display for everyone to see it as a symbol of freedom from the corruption forever… but if you don't want to, then I won't force y —" he was silenced when Seryu put her finger towards his lips.

"I understand your resolve… I'll be by your side… regardless of how I see assassins like you back then, you fight for the same thing I want… justice. I don't know much about you, but I can see your intentions are clear. So… I accept. Me and Koro-chan will join Night Raid and fight with you." Seryu said with a small smile through her tears, before burying her face in Tatsumi's chest once again.

All of a sudden, Akame landed from the sky with a worried look on her face as she ran towards her crush. "Tatsumi! I'm here! What's going on over here?" she asked, only to see that the brunette was busy comforting an orange-haired girl who was crying on his chest. "Tatsumi, who is she?"

"She's our newest member," Tatsumi said with a smile.

 **(Later that Night; Tatsumi's Room)**

" _Man, what a day… hopefully a good night's sleep can help me clear my mind…"_ Tatsumi thought to himself as he prepared to go to bed. A lot of things happened today for the brunette, which started with Akame waking up in the same bed as him, fighting Zanku in perhaps the toughest battle of his life yet, to recruiting another member of Night Raid by the name of Seryu Ubiquitous. " _I wonder what would happen to us now that an imperial guard joined our cause… well if anything, I'm just glad that we have —"_ the brunette was cut off from his thoughts when he heard someone knocking on the door.

" _Oh, for the love of…"_ he sighed. " _Who could it be at this time of night?"_ he groaned to himself before a raven-haired assassin appeared in his thoughts. " _A-Akame?! N-No, that's impossible… we just slept together last night because she was having bad dreams, right? It's impossible for her to have nightmares for consecutive nights, right?"_ he said to himself, yet he couldn't stop himself from walking towards the door before grasping the handle. Sighing deeply to himself, he shook his head in defeat. "Well, it looks like I don't have much of a choice, do I? Better get this over with right now before anyone even sees her here…" he said to himself as he opened the door.

Just as he thought, Akame was just waiting out the door but unlike last night, she didn't have a pillow with her. Did that mean she wasn't going to sleep beside him tonight? And what's more, if looked upon closely, Akame's face was of the color red, if not deeper.

"Yo Akame," he said with a smile. Even though he didn't particularly liked getting out of bed this late in night, he wasn't going to complain about seeing the ruby-eyed assassin again. He did like her company and she was a good friend to him ever since he first joined Night Raid. Hey, not to mention the fact that she's sexy as h — WOAH, WAIT! That's going too far now, isn't it? Shaking his head to get those kinds of thoughts off his mind, he turned his attention back towards the girl in front of him. "So what brings you here?"

"T-T-Ta-Tat-Tatsumi…" she stuttered out, looking to the side after saying his name. "C-Can I… can I talk to you… tonight? There's… s-something important I w-wa-want to tell you about…" she struggled to finish in embarrassment. " _Come on! You weren't like this earlier! You tried to be his partner just so you could tell him! So why are you hesitating now?!"_ she screamed internally. " _W-What if he thinks I'm weird if I say it? W-We just met no more than a month ago… no, no, don't be like that, Akame… you've faced way more than this."_

Tatsumi was honestly surprised with what she wanted; was there even a certain topic that would be worth talking about late at night? Or maybe this was just an indirect way of saying that she's been having had dreams again? "S-Sure, but come on inside… it'll be disrespectful for me and bad for the both of us if somebody sees us talking here in the open…" he said, inviting her inside.

Like yesterday, he led Akame towards his bed and he noticed that this was exactly what happened last night when she wanted to sleep beside him. True to his guess, there was silence between them and nobody dared to speak for the next few moments until he decided to try and start a conversation between them once again. "So what did you want to talk to me about, Akame? A new mission or something about training?" he tried to ask.

However, unlike yesterday, Akame didn't respond to his question and just simply kept her head down low. The girl was blushing deeply and she was biting her lower lip out of nervousness. It wasn't a normal sight for the red-eyed assassin to feel like this, especially when she wasn't in battle, because she was seen as stoic almost all the time here at base and even whenever they were out on an assignment. Earlier in the morning, she was planning all day long on how she would confront Tatsumi and tell him the weird feelings that she had been feeling towards him but now, she wasn't feeling as confident as she was earlier.

"Akame?" he tried calling out when he noticed that his raven-haired comrade wasn't answering his question at all. Once again, she didn't answer which forced Tatsumi to look at her. And that was when he finally noticed that Akame's face had gone red for some unknown reason.

"Hey Akame, you're looking red all of a sudden… is something wrong?" he asked, holding her shoulder gently and turned her around to face him.

She was so lost in her thoughts about Tatsumi that Akame didn't realize she was looking at him straight in the eyes and she only managed to regain control of her senses when he touched her neck with his hand to see if she was feeling sick or something.

"Well, you're not sick, thank goodness…" he said, breathing out a sigh of relief. "If you're not sick, then what's wrong? Are you having bad dreams again? Or… or maybe you're too embarrassed to tell me about them? There's no need for you to be like that, you know? Have you forgotten that you can trust me with your problems?"

Akame was simply at a lost for words as she listened to him speak; everything he just said was the confirmation that she needed to prove that he really did care for her just as much as she did, and that alone gave her the courage she needed to do what she had been planning to do all day long.

Without any more hesitation, she threw herself at Tatsumi, straddling his hips before she captured his lips in a deep and fiery kiss in which she poured out both her love and lust into it like a hungry animal itching for food.

Tatsumi was shocked with her sudden action and he wasn't able to fully comprehend what was happening at the moment, which is why he didn't even make any response to her kiss and that allowed Akame to slide her tongue into his mouth, making her take this to the next level. Although the girl wasn't experienced in love or intimacy, she did know that a boy is supposed to make a girl feel good and vice versa when both are in love with one another. Akame cupped his cheeks with both her hands and pulled him even closer to her that her tongue could nearly reach his throat while their bodies were touching against one another, covered only by thin pieces of fabric.

After about a minute of kissing her love, Akame finally let go of him and looked at Tatsumi with a triumphant smile on her face.

She did it.

She fulfilled her goal.

She showed Tatsumi just what he meant to her through a steaming hot kiss. It was not just a simple petty schoolgirl crush, because Akame was in love, despite her not being completely sure about it.

It was all over now, right?

But hang on just a minute! How is he gonna react to what she just did? Will he be disgusted with her? He'll think she's weird? He'll cut off their friendship over it? Just by having those thoughts made Akame disheartened over what could have been, the biggest mistake of her life.

Tatsumi's eyes were still wide even after the red-eyed assassin had stopped kissing him. He never thought that Akame would do something like and he certainly didn't expect it, which is why he was momentarily stunned and wasn't able to respond to her action. He looked at her incredulously before he forced himself to sit up, causing Akame to be moved onto his lap before he raised a finger to his lips, still feeling the taste of Akame's lips on his own.

More seconds passed and the doubt in the girl's heart grew little by little, feeling that she was about to be rejected and she nearly felt like crying then and there, before she finally heard him speak.

"A-Akame… why did you do that?" he asked out of shock.

"Why did I do what?" she asked, oblivious to what Tatsumi was trying to talk about.

"I mean, why did you kiss me all of a sudden? You don't just kiss someone like that out of the blue, Akame." A fierce blush started to form on his face out of embarrassment, which the red-eyed assassin found to be both cute and funny at the same time. "D-Does this mean that y-you —" he was silenced when Akame put her finger on his lips.

"I don't know much about love, but I am willing to know more about it with you Tatsumi." she said with a teary smile, feeling happy that she wasn't rejected or anything worse. "I think I'm falling in love with you, Tatsumi. From the moment that I knew that I could trust you with my past, I felt that there was something that kept me somewhat connected with you, and this may be it."

"Y-You're in love with me?" he asked with widened eyes, shock taking over his entire soul. He knew that Akame and him had a close friendship these past few weeks but he never thought that she could be in love with him.

"Yes," she said before she wrapped her arms around Tatsumi, hugging him possessively. "I've had these strange feelings ever since that night when I told you more about myself and slept together here."

"Akame… I don't know what to say… to be honest, I like you too. Like, I really like you as a friend but I also want to be more than that and I think I can try and work out a relationship with you outside our assassin work…" An image of Sayo appeared in his mind. "But then there's — he was silenced yet again when Akame pressed her fingers to his lips.

"Please don't say anything else… hearing you accept my feelings made me so happy, Tatsumi." she said, a few tears of joy escaping her eyes. "We can talk more about this in the morning… for now, please kiss me, Tatsumi." she finished before locking her lips with his own in another heated kiss.

" _Ah, forget it! I'll sort this issue with Sayo and Leone out in the morning… I got a hungry girl kissing me, so I should enjoy this while I still can."_ he thought to himself, wrapping his arms around Akame's back and started to kiss her back.

Little did the two assassins know that there was someone just outside the door, listening to their whole conversation and she was giggling mischievously to herself upon hearing the sound of kissing inside the room.

* * *

 _ **Harem: Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Sheele, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	8. Kill the Doubt

"Normal Talking"

 _"Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters…**_

* * *

 **(Flashback)**

By the time that Tatsumi returned with Akame to the hideout, everyone was ready to question the two on why they were back late that everybody else who was involved in the mission was already back. But the moment that they spotted the imperial guard behind the two assassins, they quickly prepared for an incoming fight. However, all of them lowered their arms when Tatsumi stepped forward and just smiled.

"I brought her here with me." Tatsumi spoke.

"Tatsumi, what's going on here? Why did you and Akame go past the time limit and why is that girl here in our hideout?" Najenda asked with narrowed eyes, taking a drag of her cigar. If looks could kill, the brunette would be peeing his pants right now but instead, Tatsumi looked over at Najenda and flashed a small smile.

"She's on our side now and she wants to join Night Raid. Isn't that obvious if she's with me?"

Seryu, who was standing behind Tatsumi, was smiling nervously with Koro just beside her in his normal form. Instead of her imperial guard armor, she was wearing a green shirt and orange shorts with brown boots. She also had a large backpack slung over her shoulders, which must have been containing all her belongings; the girl herself was expecting this kind of reaction from Night Raid's other members since she was indeed a famous part of the imperial guards way back. After Tatsumi explained her new motives and resolve to Akame, the red-eyed assassin had no problem with her joining their group, but they'd have to talk with Najenda about it to make it official.

"Why would an Imperial Guard join all of a sudden… especially one that is obviously well known in the Empire due to her biological teigu that has done nothing but eat and eat people all day long?" the Boss crossed her arms under her chest and frowned.

"Well after I killed Zanku earlier, we met and kind of fought each other for a few minutes before she saw how wrong the empire is and she decided to accept my offer to join us."

That was when the girl decided to speak for herself and stepped forward to face them all. "My name is Seryu, I'm a former member of the Imperial Guard! After I found out a shocking truth about my mentor and witnessing the horrific actions of my fellow guards, I decided to join Night Raid with Koro-chan!" Seryu said, saluting them as she carried Koro with one arm.

Najenda eyed her suspiciously up and down before she realized something strange about her. "Wait a second, shouldn't you be in your guard uniform on the way here? And won't your allies in the capital come looking for you when they find out that you're gone missing?"

"I had to pack up my things and change into more comfortable clothes before going here…" she replied in a somewhat embarrassed tone. "And I assure you, they won't. Tatsumi and I burned down my house before we left the capital, which will make it look like I'm dead, so I'm free to join Night Raid without worrying about my former subordinates."

"So you faked your death, huh?" After a while, Najenda finally sighed in defeat. "Alright, alright. Tatsumi, since you are the one who brought her here, you'll have to take responsibility for her for the next few days. You'll show her around here and I'm sure that you already know your way around the base. I have things to handle right now…" Najenda said as she walked away with a rain cloud over her head. " _This is becoming a bit stressful for me…"_

"Okay… now that that's settled, let's go up to your room then, Seryu!" Tatsumi said, turning his attention towards Night Raid's newest member.

"Aye, sir!" she replied, saluting the young man.

 **(End of Flashback)**

Tatsumi smiled to himself as he positioned both of his arms under his head; the brunette woke up a few hours after midnight because he was thirsty and he headed to the kitchen to drink some water, but he didn't get out of bed that easily before that when Akame clung unto him like a child hugging her favorite teddy.

He smiled when he saw her sleeping face next to him; she wanted to sleep beside him once again not because she was having bad dreams, but it was because she wanted to spend the night with her newfound lover. However, he needed to get out of her grasp if he wanted to satisfy his thirst at that moment. But with every attempt that he tried to pry away from her, Akame just pulled him down and snuggled even closer to him that it took him nearly about twenty times to try doing the same thing over and over before eventually giving up.

He did however, managed to come up with a simple plan afterwards that granted him his wish; using a pillow, he quickly switched places with it and got out of the bed with Akame hugging the pillow tightly, causing Tatsumi to sigh in relief before he stood up on his feet and quickly went to the kitchen to drink some water.

When he got back, he was relieved to see that his new girlfriend was still in a deep sleep and tried to go back to his bed quietly like how he got out of there earlier but was denied by Akame herself.

Almost as if she was a robot functioning on its own, the girl seemed to have noticed Tatsumi's presence even though she was still asleep that as soon as he tried to remove the pillow she was hugging away from her, Akame pulled him in and he landed on top of her body. Tatsumi's eyes slightly widened at how she acted out of pure instinct maybe? Or was it because she was awake all along and was waiting for him to return from the kitchen?

Either way, it didn't save him for the rest of the night.

" _Oh no, what the heck has gone wrong with her now?!"_ he panicked internally when he felt Akame's legs wrap around his waist before she pulled him closer to her chest, burying his face into her cleavage that got steam to come out from his ears due to embarrassment and a little stream of blood could be seen running down his nose.

"Tatsumi… you said you won't leave me…" she breathed out in her sleep with a huge blush on her face, which caused a large bead of sweat to fall down the young man's back.

" _Now, I'm wondering if she's gonna be like this all the time…"_ he said to himself before forcing his being to try and sleep it out since there was no way for him to escape Akame's clutches now.

* * *

 **(One Week Later; Night Raid's Hidden Base)**

"So Akame, you've been keeping watch of Seryu's training for the past days… how is she doing by the way?" the Boss asked, as she lit a cigarette and sank into her chair. "Because according to Mine, her specialty is firearms, but she is not the type to be placed in a considerable distance away from a target. What about her other skills, then?"

"I would say the same as Mine did. Seryu Ubiquitous also knows her way around swords and other weapons aside from firearms. According to her, her training as an imperial guard consisted of different parts, which made her a natural prodigy in almost every aspect of fighting. I feel that there is no need to improve her skills through training with this." Akame explained, getting Najenda's attention. "However, if we take her teigu, _**Hekatonkheires**_ , into account and use it to determine what mission would suit her the most, it would be reconnaissance and patrol."

"You think she'd be a good lookout and tracker?" Najenda said, as she rubbed her chin.

"Yes, if you notice the fact that no prisoner in the capital has ever escaped her teigu's nose. _**Hekatonkheires**_ could easily track down any target plus, the fact that it could change its own size from a harmless little creature into a gigantic monster gives us an advantage in fighting large hordes of enemies." Akame explained, just as Leone, Mine and Lubbock walked into the meeting room. "Anyways, I think Seryu would be better suited for patrol and combat missions, her skills and prowess in fighting make her a formidable opponent who will be hard to kill."

"Okay, I'll take your advice under consideration." Najenda said, as she took a puff of her cigarette. "I'll have Mine further keep an eye on her firearms training to see if you're right in what you're proposing. If all goes well, then Leone would have a reliable ally in scouting and lookout."

"Thank you, Boss." Akame said as she nodded and walked out of the room. " _Time to cook the most delicious breakfast in the world for my Tatsumi…"_ she sang in her head.

"Next… Mine." As soon as she heard her name come from the Boss's mouth, the pink-haired sniper stepped forward with a serious look on her face, feeling that this was an important discussion. "You're training Sayo today. Now according to Akame, she's not too much of a close-range fighter but she could take a hit and hit enemies back with the right punch. For Leone, she says that Sayo is a good information gatherer and is quite talented in stealth and blending in with crowds. I want you to put Leone's words to the test today and see if Sayo is really like what she says. Can you do that?"

Mine nodded in response. "Yes, Boss!"

"Good, that takes care of things then. For her specialty, I don't think we need to know more about it since it's obvious that she's a natural when it comes to a bow and other long-ranged weapons…" she joked before Mine left the room for some early training at the shooting range while breakfast wasn't ready yet.

"So…" Lubbock said, as he sat on a chair and munched on an apple that he got from the nearby fruit basket. "Tatsumi is training with Sheele today? Do you think he'll be okay with her by his side the whole day? I mean, you do remember the times when she _trained_ with everyone else, right?" he asked nervously.

"He'll be fine." Najenda replied, walking towards the basket before grabbing an apple as well. "Tatsumi's very understanding as a person and Sheele enjoys him being around."

"What makes you say that?" Lubbock asked, as he raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Older women seem to prefer Tatsumi over other men." Najenda shrugged, winking at Lubbock that caused him to slump down in envy.

"Hey, over here!" Leone sang as she waved her arms in the air to get their attention. "I'm totally gonna hit on that hunk of a fighter next! I can't wait to show him my charm!" she finished, palming both her cheeks while a blush stained both her cheeks.

"Ya see?" the Boss said, pointing towards Leone with her thumb. "The kid has to have some kind of inborn gift or something. Not to mention that Akame talks mostly about Tatsumi recently."

"What the fuck!?" Lubbock yelled, as he collapsed to his knees; anime tears pouring from his eyes. "It's not fair, man!" Lubbock began to pound his fist on the ground and cry like a small child. _"First Akame acts all sweet and lovey dovey around him, then Leone is always clinging to him whenever she can! I even catch Mine blushing sometimes when she looks at him! GAH! Why's he so damn lucky?! I can't believe I'm hearing this from you, Najenda!"_

"And since Tatsumi is an assassin, he has to be a _lady killer_." she joked and silence took over the room after her words. "How was that? Pretty clever, right?"

Leone and Lubbock just stared at her blankly.

Najenda sighed at her inability to be funny for once. "…guess not."

 **(Same time; Tatsumi's Room)**

"Mmm, Tatsumi…" Hearing his name, Tatsumi turned his body to the side, hoping that Akame was right by his side. For the past few days, it was like his bedroom was like Akame's bedroom too because she always wanted to sleep beside him, saying that she doesn't like it when she's away from him. But to his surprise, he saw Sheele snoring gently on a chair next to his bed. The purple-haired woman's head was resting on the edge as she drooled a bit.

 _"Uh, why is she in my room?"_ Tatsumi thought as he slowly sat up from bed and stared at Sheele's sleeping figure. _"Wait a minute, where the hell is Akame? Wasn't she in bed with me about an hour ago? Hang on, did she just wake up earlier than I did? That's a first…"_

"Looks like you'll be training under me today, Tatsumi." Sheele muttered in her sleep with a smile. The young man didn't miss the slight blush that was spread across Sheele's face as she spoke. "I can't wait to work with you…"

 _"Hehe, well she really is an airhead."_ Tatsumi thought with a small chuckle before he reached out with one hand and gently poked Sheele's cheek. The girl yawned cutely and slowly sat up afterwards. "Morning, Sheele." he said, grinning at her.

"Good morning, Tatsumi." she replied before taking off her glasses and rubbed her eyes a few times. "Wait… what am I doing here again?"

"Um, I think you're the one who's supposed to train me today." Tatsumi replied as he slipped out of bed and did a few push-ups for a quick warm up. "You must have come here to tell me and then you fell asleep."

"Oh… I think that's the reason." Sheele said as she scratched her head in confusion. "Well, let's get started then."

"Do you even have anything planned out?" Tatsumi asked as he put on his boots and his sword on his back. "Because I think that Akame is going to be a little upset that I won't be helping her out in the kitchen today and because… well, I'm not going to be training with her."

"No, I don't have anything in mind." Sheele replied, placing a finger on her chin before she flashed a cute smile. "But, I'm sure I'll be able to think of something while we're on our way to our training area."

 _"Hmm, I didn't expect less from her…"_ Tatsumi shrugged in his thoughts.

 **(Fifteen Minutes Later; River to the south of Night Raid's Base)**

"Damn!" Tatsumi grunted, pulling himself out of the rapidly flowing river. The young man was dressed in heavy armor from his neck all the way down to his feet. Tatsumi sat down on the riverside, panting. "Wow, I never imagined swimming would be _that_ hard while wearing this junk. The current almost got me there…" he said, leaning forward to drink up some fresh water from the river.

"Great job swimming in that armor, Tatsumi! I knew you could do it!" Sheele cheered on with a slight blush on her face as she sat down on a nearby rock, clapping her hands.

"Honestly speaking, it was really hard… but who cares? If this is training, I don't care how hard it is, I'll do it one way or another to become stronger and better than before." Tatsumi said before quickly getting back up onto his feet. "By the way, what I did is training to improve on what, Sheele?"

"I… don't remember, really." she replied, nervously scratching the back of her head in embarrassment.

"I thought so." Tatsumi breathed out, sighing lightly.

"But this is a confirmed part of the training to be an assassin." The girl she adjusted her glasses before continuing in her words. "Since I don't have any duties at the hideout, I can focus all my attention on helping you, Sayo and Seryu to become better assassins."

"Why don't you have any duties?" Tatsumi asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Well…" Sheele muttered with a blush appearing on her face before making a confused expression. "When I tried to help cook, I burned the food and it really pissed Akame off, and because of that, she still won't let me anywhere near the kitchen. While cleaning, I make an even bigger mess than what it was supposed to be, and it caused trouble for Bulat. But… I don't think he really minded that much about it. Then when I went on a shopping errand, I mixed up the sugar with the salt, and Leone laughed at me when I got home. She still teases me about it until now. And when I tried to help Lubbock set up some traps around the base, I ended getting caught in most of them and my back still hurts a bit from when I fell in one of the pit traps. And lastly, when I did the laundry...I ended up throwing Mine in it as well."

"Oh, I get your point… I had no idea you had to go through all of those just to find out whether you can help or not." Tatsumi said, looking to the side so he could make a concerned expression. _"How the hell did she mix Mine up with the laundry? Anyways, I feel bad for Sheele… I can't imagine what it's like being in her position… well, it's probably the main challenge of being an airhead…"_ Tatsumi then began taking off the armor that he was wearing slowly. "You know Sheele, there's something that I've been wondering about for a while. Back when I first Night Raid, I don't remember seeing you when we were about to head back to the hideout. Where were you that time?" he asked.

"Oh that time…" Sheele said as she rubbed her arm in nervousness. "I'm sorry… but I'm too embarrassed to tell you." she bowed her head, causing her glasses to slip off. "Oh no, my glasses! Where did my glasses go?! Please help me find it!" Sheele bent over and began to feel around the ground for her glasses.

 _"Holy shit… she's almost at the size of Big Sis!"_ Tatsumi thought as a fierce blush immediately spread across his face. The way Sheele had bent forward gave Tatsumi an extremely generous view of her huge cleavage. _"She's so cute…"_ He quickly shook his head afterwards to get rid of any lewd thoughts he was having. " _No, no, now's not the time for things like this!"_ In an attempt to make himself forget all about it, Tatsumi walked over and picked up Sheele's glasses from the ground. "Here you go, Sheele."

"Thank you, Tatsumi." Sheele said, putting her glasses back on before she laughed embarrassingly and sat back down on the rock she was sitting on earlier. "I'm practically blind without these."

"Hey, I promise I won't laugh if you tell me why you weren't with us when we came back to the hideout that night. What do you say?" Tatsumi asked, sitting down on the rock that was next to hers.

"You promise? Really?" Sheele asked.

He nodded.

"All right. My target was Aria's mother that time… and well, I managed to kill her… but then I… I kinda got lost…" she muttered.

"You got… lost?" Tatsumi repeated, a smile appearing on his face out of amusement although he tried his best not to laugh.

"Yeah, the house was so big… and there were just so many rooms… I just kept on following where I could hear loud noises… by the time I finally found my way out, you all were gone… and I had to head back on my own."

Unable to resist his growing humor at the purple-haired girl's airheadedness and where it got her, he finally burst out in a fit of laughter, covering his mouth with his hands.

"Hey! You said you wouldn't laugh!"

"Sorry." he said before trying his to suppress his laughter from now on, which failed horribly that he had to look away from her so he could finally calm down. "You're just so adorable when you're like that."

"W-What?!" she squeaked, her entire face burning red in embarrassment.

"You act just like a little kid sometimes, no maybe all of the time." Tatsumi explained, managing to finally suppress his laughter by biting his upper lip. "It's really cute and the fact that you look innocent and kind adds to it by a ton."

"Uh… right… I'll… take that as a compliment, I guess…" the girl said, as shaking her head to try and fight off the blush on her face.

"By the way, how exactly did you end up in this line of work, Sheele?" Tatsumi asked, finally getting over his laughter. "Because you seem too nice and innocent to be an assassin, in my opinion."

"Hmm, well I guess I should start from the beginning if I'm gonna tell you…" she began, adjusting her glasses once again. "I was born in the capital's downtown district… ever since I was little, I've been totally clumsy and clueless… I was never told that I had done a good job and people would always tell me that I have a screw loose in my head…"

 _"Oh, shit… this might be a bad memory, after all…"_ Tatsumi thought when he saw the sad look in the girl's eyes. Being the caring man that he was, Tatsumi placed his hand on Sheele's shoulder in comfort, causing her to give the brunette a small smile of thanks.

"But… despite everything that happened, I had a friend who liked me for who I was… no matter how badly I messed something up, she'd never make fun of me, laugh at me or call me a screw up… the time I spent with her was the only time of happiness I ever had back then…" Sheele said, looking down at the ground as a single tear rolled down her cheek. "That was until one day… her ex-boyfriend came barging into her home… he was furious at her for dumping him, so he came over and started trashing the place… then he started choking her right before my eyes… and I knew I had to save her, so I did the only thing I could think of… I grabbed a nearby knife and stabbed him in the throat… he died almost instantly… apparently, I was so calm that my own reaction to it shocked even me… while my friend was shaking from what had just happened."

"What happened to you and your friend?" Tatsumi asked and Sheele sighed afterwards.

"There was a court case after everything, and it was deemed a legitimate matter of self-defense. So, luckily I faced no charges. But after that, my friend… she said that she didn't want to see me again… I haven't seen or heard from her since that day… and then a few days after the trial, a group of men surrounded me on the street… they were friends of the man I killed, and apparently he was in some type of gang. They told me that they had already killed my parents and I was next on their list… but surprisingly, I wasn't scared or worried at all… I was just calm and collected the whole time and I used a knife I started carrying around to kill all of them on the spot. When they were all dead, I suddenly realized something… that loose screw I had in my head… was what made me such a great killer… I realized I could finally be useful… I could help wipe out the trash in society, starting in the place where I lived in. After that, I worked as a freelance assassin in the capital for a while, before I was scouted and recruited by the revolutionary army… and that's pretty much everything about me before I joined Night Raid."

"So that's how you know the curriculum for assassin training." Tatsumi said, earning a nod from the purple-haired woman. "I'm sorry for everything that you've gone through, Sheele. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you growing up, since we've had different lives…"

"Oh, there's no need for you to apologize Tatsumi." Sheele said, waving him off dismissively. "Sure, I had rough time when I was younger girl and becoming an assassin didn't come quite as naturally to me as it did for you… but I'm truly happy now, you know." A bright smile then spread across Sheele's face, and Tatsumi blushed at how cute she looked with her expression like that. "I love everyone in Night Raid and I see you all as family. I'm happy to have all of you in my life."

"I'm glad to hear that Sheele, because I like you all too." Tatsumi said, patting her head before he stood up and faced away from the girl. _"Everyone here… carries so many scars and demons with them… like me…"_

* * *

 **(Two Hours Later; Night Raid Hidden Base)**

After he finished his morning training with Sheele, the two assassins joined everyone at the table for breakfast. As usual, Tatsumi enjoyed the cooking of his beloved Akame and she'd feel proud of herself afterwards before proceeding to serve food for everyone else, including herself. It was also at that moment that Sayo bragged about her new teigu to her childhood friend, which was the teigu of the fallen Zanku from last night, _**Omnipotent Five Sights: Spectator**_.

Last night, after Seryu (with Koro) got welcomed into their group of assassins and left the meeting room with Tatsumi so he could show her around the hideout, Sayo finally received her teigu [which was held by Lubbock for safekeeping] and was told by Najenda that it was extremely useful for a sniper/marksman like her. The dark-haired girl was overjoyed with this and vowed that she would bring justice to the teigu's name while she was its owner and erase Zanku's cruel memory off it.

Tatsumi went on to state how proud she was of her and how happy he was that she now has a teigu of her own, which would further help her become a better assassin for this war, which got Sayo both embarrassed and happy with his words that she punched his arm playfully afterwards.

After he finished his breakfast, Tatsumi went towards the outdoor hot springs, planning to take a long hot bath to clear his mind because he was feeling troubled ever since his talk with Sheele a few hours ago. It was only a damn miracle that neither Sayo nor Akame took notice of this because this was a problem that he didn't want anyone else getting involved in it.

He entered the bath after undressing and released a long sigh of relief under the feel of the hot water on his body. His training this morning took a lot out of him, as it was a really challenging task to swim while wearing heavy armor. He relaxed his muscles and let out a moan in pleasure before he looked at his own hand, flashing a look of disdain on his face afterwards.

" _Am I really an assassin? Or was Mine right all along? What if I am just a newbie?"_ he thought to himself. " _I thought that… I thought that I'm cut out for this job and do my best to get rid of the shitty empire… but how can I do that when I can't get it out of my mind? The people I've killed when I was still in the village… my parents… I mean, I'm not regretting that I kill corrupt and people who are pieces of crap right now… but it feels like I've let Akame down. What happened to the guy that she looked up to that night? Come on… show your face…"_

"Still moping around, I see…" spoke a voice that sounded like it belonged to a woman. Tatsumi managed to snap out of his thoughts and looked over at Leone who was sitting next to him. He noticed that she was completely naked and he could see her bare breasts out of the water.

Leone grinned at seeing that Tatsumi acting like a normal guy and decided to tease him some. " _Time to make my move."_ she thought to herself happily.

"Like what you see, Tatsumiiii?" she purred out.

Tatsumi simply rolled his eyes and looked away. He wasn't exactly in the mood for Leone's teasing right now. "What's there to see?" he teased back. The busty blonde was taken aback by his words before flashing a predator-like grin.

"Did you just call these babies flat?" she asked, grabbing his hand and placed it on her chest, before forcing him to squeeze her boobs that she had to hold back a moan that was desperate to escape her lips.

"Smaller than Mine's." Tatsumi said with a grin of his own, although there was a blush on his face and Leone could feel something hard poking her thigh under the water.

"Well, well, well… looks like you've brought out another sword… and I think it likes me, don't you think?" Leone said huskily as she slowly dropped her right hand into the water and approached his aroused member, but Tatsumi grabbed her wrist for a moment and looked at her sharply before dropping it with a long sigh.

"Is it wrong to think that this path I've chosen was a huge fluke?" he asked and Leone raised an eyebrow. After noticing the confusion in her eyes, he continued. "I talked with Sheele earlier, and she told me how she became an assassin and a member of Night Raid in the first place. While talking to her, I remembered how I killed my own parents and how I cried myself to bed for several days after that… it made me think that maybe I wasn't fit to be an assassin after all… an assassin is supposed to be unaffected by any event that's happening around him, but I'm not like Sheele who can stay calm even though she killed somebody…" he muttered sadly.

Leone frowned and placed an arm around Tatsumi's next and hugged him to her side, pressing her chest against his arm. She laid her head on his shoulder and nuzzled him like a real cat, enjoying his warmth at the same time.

"Don't say that. We all know what you've done, Tatsumi… I'm sorry you had to do such things… but you need to think about why you did it in the first place. Your parents are no different than the scum that we kill every time we have a new contract… you were doing what's right and it's for the greater good that people like them would be gone forever. if I was in your place, I would've done the same thing, even if they were my parents and… you know, I'm not really good at these kind of talks you know but, what I'm trying to say is… nobody would ever think badly of you for what you did… yeah, you killed your own parents and some other people but what about the rest of us? We're all murderers… you included. We all have to be strong for the sake of keeping each other safe. We're all in this together… we're a family."

Tatsumi sighed and looked down with a smile. "Thanks, sis… that makes me feel better, even though just a little bit. You know, be honest, I've considered ending my life a few times through the years… like Akame, I've had some bad dreams here and there but… I did my best to move past them and live on with everything."

"Oh stop it… Akame's gonna kill you when she finds out that her boyfriend was having suicidal thoughts," she teased.

Tatsumi widened his eyes slightly before he turned to the girl with his mouth hung open out of shock. His relationship with the red-eyed beauty was supposed to be a secret until they were ready to admit it. "Wait, how did you know —" he tried to say, but she pressed a finger towards his lips to keep him quiet.

"Call it a woman's instincts," she winked at him, causing him to nod in understanding. "And don't worry, I'm not gonna say anything to anyone about this this… not yet, though." she giggled afterwards.

"Heh, fair enough. You know, that's a bit weird hearing that from you… you gossip about almost anything that you find worthy to talk about." he shrugged. "I can only hope that you're being entirely honest with me, you feisty cat."

She pouted cutely. "I'm a bit hurt. Well if you want me to be honest, Tatsumi… you've attracted my attention the moment you first stepped into this base and like Akame, I'd be sad if you were gone."

Tatsumi remembered how the busty blonde was a bit clingy towards him as of late due to her words. "Oh, that reminds me… you seem to be attached to me compared to Bro or Lubbock. Mind explaining why is that?"

"Bulat is gay and Lubbock is a perverted idiot… he's not the type of man I'd be attracted to."

"Ok… and what makes me different?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Let's see… well, you're very mature… strong, hot as hell, sweet, caring, and kind… yeah, all of that and because you marked me." she grinned.

"I… marked you?"

Leone nodded and revealed him her wrist, showing the bite mark which had now turned into a scar. It was in the shape of both of his incisors and the blonde could only snicker at Tatsumi's shocked expression at the moment.

"Y-Y-You're kidding me, right?" he asked nervously.

"Nope… you marked me as your property and I'm not complaining about it. In fact, I love it."

"O… kay… I think I get the picture now…" Tatsumi said, unsure exactly how to respond to this newfound information.

Leone grinned and slowly nipped Tatsumi's ear lobe. "So, as your property…" Leone began, sending shivers down the boy's spine. "You can do… anything… you… want… to… me." she said, nipping at his neck after each word, sending him the message loud and clear before he turned towards her with a sharp look.

"Don't even think about it," he told her firmly. "Akame is my girlfriend and I'm not gonna cheat on anyone here. Especially to those who I've grown to love."

The busty blonde was a bit surprised with his response, but she only grinned. She just witnessed another quality that Tatsumi had; he was loyal, and it just made her want him even more. Leone never thought about romance and relationships before and she only teased and acted the way she was just for the fun she got from it, but after Tatsumi had bitten her hand, she's been a victim to her own feelings for the brunette.

"Oh, don't worry about Akame…" she smiled, pinching his cheek softly. "I was already planning on talking to her about you and ask if she was willing to share… because this cat is entitled to only one _mate_ her entire life."

"You're out of your mind…" he deadpanned. "What kind of guy dates two incredibly hot girls at the same time?! What am I, some kind of harem king? It's not normal, sis!"

Leone blushed slightly at his words before she giggled like a schoolgirl. "Wow, I'm flattered with your words… who knew you could come up with something like that? But anyway, we're assassins Tatsumi. Life can never be normal again for any of us, which includes you. And who cares, anyway?! It's hella fun to break tradition, you know!"

His eyes widened as he remembered Akame's words a few days before when he woke up in his bed with her beside him. While he was left in his own thoughts, Leone mischievously smiled before sneaking behind Tatsumi and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her bare assets to his back.

The feeling alone was enough to snap the young man out of his trance and glanced behind him to see Leone with a smile on her face. "What are you doing?" he asked with a plainly confused tone.

She giggled before rubbing a nearby bar of soap all over his back. "Washing your back, silly. You look like crap before you got here, and you obviously need to relax. Let me take care of it for you, okay?"

Finally, he sighed in defeat. "Fine, do what you want… I'll trust you to talk with Akame about this…" he groaned out. " _She has a point though… and Akame said the same thing… but the question is, would she be willing to let Big Sis into our relationship? I have my doubts on it…"_

 _ **[*Super Sexy Lemon Alert!*]**_

" _Yes, mission complete!"_ she thought triumphantly to herself, continuing to spread the soap all over his back. " _I'll just talk to her tonight and then Tatsumi will be mine…"_ she looked down at her chest before turning her gaze to his back, and a mischievous smile appeared on her face. " _Let's see how he reacts to this…"_ she leaned forward and started rubbing her breasts against his back and almost immediately, Tatsumi shuddered at the sudden feeling of something grinding against him.

If he had to be honest… it felt… _good_.

"Now, what are you doing?" he asked with a hint of worry in his voice, this time not turning around to even take a glance at her.

"This? Oh, I'm using these babies to wash your back instead." she answered honestly. "Don't worry, it's much faster this way and you'll feel good at the same time! Let your Big Sis take care of everything, okay?"

He didn't respond at all. Instead, he just nodded as his face started to heat up, steam blowing out his ears due to embarrassment. Leone laughed at seeing his reaction before she continued in grinding her boobs against his back, starting to feel aroused as well. The bubbly soap spread across both their skins in the process and this continued for a whole minute before Leone peeked over his shoulder to see the result of her "work".

" _Holy shit! He must be 10 inches long!"_ she thought, her jaw dropping at Tatsumi's massive size before licking her lips sensually. " _I didn't see how big he was earlier, but now I'm blown away! Oh fuck teasing, I want some action now!"_ she continued before lowering down her hand to grasp his long shaft, and Tatsumi's eyes snapped open at the sudden contact.

"Hey, where the hell do you think you're touching?!" he demanded, feeling alarmed.

"Ssshhh…" she whispered into his ear before she started to pump her hand up and down his member, causing him to gasp slightly. "Let me take care of this… you need to relax and enjoy this, Tatsumi." she continued, starting to lick his ear that sent chills down his spine.

"S-Sis… y-your hand…" he moaned out, feeling weak under her touch and Leone only giggled. She had Tatsumi under her control and she was loving it. Her hand began to pump a little faster than before, and she amped up the atmosphere by rubbing her breasts against his back again, causing Tatsumi to clench his fists and grit his teeth in an attempt to stop himself from moaning out loud.

"Oh, you're quite the fighter even in this act, aren't you?" she teased, grinning like a predator. "Well, that won't happen once I'm done with you." she spoke, pumping her hand at a faster rate than before; her nipples were already hard and she used it to her advantage to make the brunette in front of her feel even better than before.

Soon enough, Leone felt that simply using her hand won't be enough to satisfy the two of them because it was getting boring. She was a girl who wanted excitement and energy, and she was going to fulfill those words.

All of a sudden, Tatsumi felt the touch of Leone's hand cease for a moment. Before he could even wonder what had happened, his eyes widened when he felt a different sensation on his pulsating member. It was warm, slippery, and a bit wet…

He looked down only to find the sight of —

"S-Sis?!" he exclaimed at the sight of the busty blonde licking the top of his cock.

"Well, this size ain't for nothing, Tatsumi… I'm impressed…" she grinned. Without any more words, she proceeded to playfully lick his member. Her tongue alternated from long slow licks along his shaft and quick flicks at the tip. No more than a few seconds later, Leone felt the need for more and swallowed him whole, wrapping his cock in her mouth and tongue. She lowered her head down deeper until her lips touched about a quarter away from the base and its tip touching the back of her throat. With her longest reach set, she pulled back until her tongue brushed against his member's tip.

Quicker than Tatsumi could even think, she immediately shoved her mouth back down his cock until it reached her throat again, continuing the pace as she bobbed her head up and down over and over.

" _Ah fuck… where did she learn to use her mouth like that?"_ Tatsumi thought to himself, gritting his teeth to stay strong. Leone was right, he was a fighter and he wasn't going to give up this particular fight easily, even if it had nothing to do with hand-to-hand combat. " _Oh, just you wait, Leone… I got some tricks up my sleeve as well…"_

Once again, Leone felt that this still wasn't enough to satisfy both of them. After releasing his cock with an audible POP!, she wiped the pre-cum that she had tasted off her lips and smiled seductively. "Well, that tasted good… but I wonder how your real cum tastes like." she said, grabbing her own breasts in front of the brunette before rolling them in her hands. "Do you mind me using these secret weapons, Tatsumi?"

Tatsumi took a few deep breaths to recompose himself, before he only grunted in response which caused Leone to laugh at his reaction.

"Ahahahaha, don't be like that Tatsumi…" she giggled, placing a kiss at the tip of his member. "I promise you that you'll feel good after what I'm gonna do, okay? These babies never fail me, you know!" she exclaimed before she suddenly sandwiched his cock between her two enormous mounds. Her action caused Tatsumi's breath to hitch for a few seconds, before using her hands to move her boobs around his manhood, giving it firm but pleasurable squeezes.

"Damn… you are one mischievous cat, aren't you?" he managed to breath out as he clenched his fists even tighter. "Are you sure that you haven't done this before?" he teased.

"Oh shut up…" she waved him off, bringing down her tongue to lick the tip of his cock while squeezing her breasts around it. "I want to see how long you can last, Tatsumi…" she purred out, guiding her mounds to rub up and down his shaft just like what her mouth did earlier. This allowed her to shove her head back down and take in the uncovered areas of his member, doubling the pleasure that Tatsumi was feeling at the moment.

After what seemed like forever, Tatsumi couldn't hold himself back anymore and let out a few moans of pleasure, causing Leone to grin victoriously. "S-Sis! It feels… it's too… overwhelming…" he grunted out, losing strength in his arms.

"Finally, you gave in… I was waiting for you to scream your head off while I'm sucking you off!" she said, separating from his cock for a moment to look up at him with a grin. "But, it's time for me to finish this off so get ready!" Without warning, she slammed her mouth back down and squeezed her boobs around his cock once more. This time, her pace had quickened even more, which indicated that she was dead serious in making him cum. Leone continued this combination of sheer ecstasy until Tatsumi finally reached his breaking point as the young man gritted his teeth and looked up at the ceiling.

"Crap… S-Sis, I'm gonna… shit… fuck it, I can't —!"

Too late. His cock had already twitched one last time and burst out his first load inside of Leone's mouth. The girl's eyes widened in surprise but rather than pull out, she kept his manhood inside her and started swallowing as much of his cum as she could. However, she didn't fully complete her objective when his semen started overflowing and some of it dripped down to her breasts. She tried her best to keep his member inside her mouth, but she couldn't handle the amount of cum that he was spewing out, which forced her to pull her head back and let him burst out his remaining load on her mounds instead.

Leone managed to swallowed every bit of cum inside her mouth with a single gulp, before wiping her mouth with one arm. "Damn, you sure let out a lot, Tatsumi…" she whistled, grinning at the panting brunette. "Even my mouth couldn't take it all in, but at least my babies got some attention too… it felt hot, by the way." she continued, looking down at her cum-covered breasts. "Okay, now that my work is done, it's your — HEY!" she yelped out when Tatsumi suddenly tackled her into the hot water.

The two assassins remained underwater for a few seconds before Tatsumi stood up with Leone hoisted on his shoulder, her bare ass sticking out. Tatsumi had a wicked grin on his face, and he was ready for some sweet revenge.

"Hey, Tatsumi! Put me down! What are you doing!" she demanded before she got slammed down hard at the edge of the hot springs; her legs were still submerged in the hot water and her womanhood was right by the edge of the rocks, leaving her in a completely vulnerable position. "Oh, I see now… is this your way of getting back at me?" she asked with a grin.

His hand slipped under her head and he lifted her up so that she was staring right into his green orbs, and Leone actually blushed a bit at how close their faces were to each other; Tatsumi looked at her whole face for a few seconds before he slammed his lips to hers, engaging in their first liplock.

Fireworks exploded inside Leone's head as she kissed the man she was thinking about for the past few weeks. During that time, whenever she thought about Tatsumi, she couldn't help but fantasize about him over and over due to the bite mark on her wrist. She didn't even expect him to be the one to actually kiss her on the lips, but she wasn't one to complain. Leone wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her, deepening their liplock and causing their bodies to mash together. It didn't help that the rocks under her were steaming hot, turning her on even more.

After about a minute, they finally separated for air and Leone cupped his cheek out of happiness. "I've been waiting to do that… for so long… I'm so happy, Tatsumi…" she breathed out before he slammed his lips back towards hers once again, not caring about what she was saying right now.

This next kiss lasted only for a few seconds before he went south, kissing her neck and collarbone as Leone tilted her head to the side to give him better access.

"You're one blonde bombshell who's tough to impress." he said as a low growl, leaving a few hickeys around her neck before he set his eyes on one of Leone's best features. "Now, I wonder who'll the eager one between us…" sending her a mischievous grin of his own, Tatsumi dove down and latched his mouth on her right breast.

Leone gasped at the sudden contact which then evolved into a full-blown moan when he immediately started to lick and suck her boob like a child to his favorite candy. "T-Tatsumi, that…" she tried to speak out, but fell short when she felt that she was being overwhelmed with the same pleasure that Tatsumi was feeling earlier. "Ahh! Y-Your tongue, it's —!" she moaned out, unable to hold herself back from moaning when he started to lick and suck her hardened nipple. Feeling that he wasn't satisfied with what he was doing, he brought his hand up to fondle Leone's other breast, kneading it like dough between his fingers. " _Holy shit, when did he learn to do this?! It's like… it's like his hands are on fire!"_ she thought to herself.

Tatsumi separated from her nipple by giving it one last flick, and Leone had to bite her fist to prevent moaning out loud yet again. But Tatsumi had the perfect solution to make her scream out in ecstasy. He then switched to her left breast, applying the same treatment to it while his hand focused on groping and massaging her right one. This got Leone to arch her back off the rocks due to the sheer pleasure she was feeling with everything that Tatsumi did. In response, she reached out behind his neck and pulled him closer to her chest, allowing to take in more of her enormous mound and it resulted in the busty blonde to become prey to her own action. "S-So good…" she moaned out in bliss; her arms were helplessly lying beside her, having lost strength just like what happened Tatsumi earlier.

After having enough of both her breasts, he gently bit her left nipple, which caused Leone to before finally letting go as he straddled her waist and looked into her eyes. It's like he was waiting for her to say something, which caused Leone to chuckle slightly.

"Well, what are you waiting for, big boy?" she teased with a grin, feeling her strength coming back. "Weren't you aggressive just a few moments earlier? I liked it, you know."

"Are you sure you want to do this with me?" he asked, trying to hold back if in case she wasn't ready for this level of intimacy. Tatsumi knew what was going to happen next and once they go through there, there was no going back. "It's not too late to go back and I'm willing to wait until you're ready. If the bite mark I left you is just forcing you to do this, then please resist it. I don't want to practically rape you right now."

Leone was slightly surprised with his words before she smiled and shook her head. "Geez, aren't you the sweet talker?" she teased, hiding her intense happiness at the moment. "I'm sure about this, Tatsumi. It's not solely because you marked me, okay? This little scar just had me fantasizing over you. The more I got to know you the past few weeks made, the more I wanted to be with you. The fact that you're willing to let me squeeze into your relationship with Akame made me so happy earlier that I wanted to cry… so please, Tatsumi. Make love to me. I want to do this with you." she said, cupping his cheek and was nearing tears.

He grinned; earlier, he wasn't really feeling alright in doing this with Leone but he didn't care anymore. Not just because of the lust he was feeling, but also because of how much the girl was determined to prove her love. Tatsumi was not an idiot and not that dense of a person, and he knew that Leone had some kind of feelings for him the moment she started to go past teasing earlier.

"Okay, it looks like you're really serious about this…" he smiled, leaning down to kiss her on the lips before he positioned himself at the edge of the hot springs, where her wet pussy was waiting for him. "I'm ready when you are. Just say the word." he told her, nodding.

"Just be gentle, please?" she replied in a slightly embarrassed tone, very different from her usual self. "It's my first time."

Tatsumi was a bit surprised with her words, but he wasn't going to ask any more questions. "Okay… don't worry though, this is my first time too." he said as he slowly pushed in his cock inside of her. The pain immediately came to the busty blonde as she gritted her teeth to resist what she felt, and Tatsumi was careful not to overdo himself to hurt her. She was nearing tears, but Leone was a strong girl, so she managed to take it in as the brunette fully pushed in his manhood inside her. "I'll be gentle, Leone."

It was right there that the Lionelle user momentarily forgot about the pain she was supposed to be feeling as she looked at him with a confused expression. "I-I thought I told you to call me Sis?" she asked, frowning a bit.

"If you want me to let you in on my relationship with Akame, then I'm gonna have to stop seeing you as an older sister but instead, as a woman. Don't you think so?" he said with a smile, panting a few times.

"T-Tatsumi…" she breathed out, her hands covering her mouth as a few tears escaped her eyes. They weren't tears of pain because of her virginity being taken, but joy because Tatsumi was right in his words. If he continued to see her as an older sister, then their relationship wouldn't progress and it would make them look like they were friends with benefits or even an incestous relationship. At that moment, her feelings for the young man grew even further that her heart was furiously thumping inside her chest.

Yes, this was what Leone wanted.

She pulled him down and hugged him tightly, crying tears of joy and Tatsumi just enjoyed her embrace, a single tear escaping his eye as well. Leone rarely ever cried, but this was an exception in her terms. "Yes, yes, that's right! I-I don't want to be your sister! I want to be your lover! Your girlfriend! Y-Your future wife!" she said, sniffling a bit. "I love you, Tatsumi!" she declared, burying her face into the crook of his neck.

" _She's so happy about this…"_ he thought to himself, feeling his heart pounding inside his chest the same way when Akame confessed her feelings to him with a kiss a few nights ago. " _Holy fuck… a-am I falling for both Akame and Leone? Okay, calm down… just deal with this like how a real assassin does it… like how Akame does it… go for the kill… like what they said, things will never be normal for us again… so if this will lead to me having two girlfriends, I better do my best to make them happy!"_

Just at the same moment, Leone finally felt the pain in her lower regions subside and slowly turn into an overwhelming feeling that made her want more. "T-Tatsumi, you can move now…" she told him as she kissed him one last time before he sat back up and straddled her waist again.

"Okay, here I go then…" Tatsumi said, slowly pulling out of Leone's womanhood until his tip was left inside before he plunged it back deep into her. "Leone, you're so tight inside!" he gritted his teeth and began to thrust in and out of girl.

"Fuck, this feels so good Tatsumi!" she screamed, grinding her hips in order to meet his thrusts, which worked big-time to make them feel even better than before. The man above her then noticed her noticed her breasts that were perfectly bouncing in unison with his movements; like a moth drawn to a flame, his hands immediately latched onto them and started groping them as if it was his last day on Earth. "Ohh! Tatsumi! Keep squeezing them, ahh!" Leone was soon turned into a moaning mess as the brunette continued on targeting her enormous chest.

"Your wish is my command, Leone!" he grinned, becoming rougher in his touch, squeezing the busty blonde's assets to the point where both were almost touching one another. He then leaned down and resumed eating her breasts out as Leone arched her back in pure bliss and ecstasy, feeling that she was seeing shooting stars in the sky. The girl managed to gather enough strength in her arms to pull him towards her lips for another deep kiss which lasted for a few seconds, before she felt that she wanted more. THE HUNGRY CAT WANTED MORE!

"Tatsumi! Faster! Fuck me harder!" she breathed out, closing her eyes as she was almost unable to blurt out any words due to how overwhelmed she was feeling right now. And then all of a sudden, she felt him pull his cock out, causing a lonely feeling to build up inside her womanhood. But before she could even complain about anything, she heard him speak in a determined voice.

"You wanted it, you'll get it feisty cat!" he grinned and flipped her over on her stomach before bringing her bare ass in the air. Leone propped herself up on her elbows before she felt his manhood plunge deep inside her again in a doggystyle position as she threw her head back.

"Yes! Harder! Faster, Tatsumi! Fuck this cat until she can't walk!" she said, before the young man grabbed her breasts from behind, rolling and pinching her nipples between his fingers before he leaned forward and kissed her neck. "A-Ahhhh…" she moaned out, turning her neck slightly to close the distance between them in a deep kiss that had lost all signs of innocence in it when their tongues brought out war against one another, not wanting to give in.

Tatsumi soon broke their makeout session and began to pump even faster inside of her, one hand gripping her hip tightly while the other just roamed all over her chest, enjoying its prize. "Damn, your tits are the best, Leone! Now I get why Lubbock is willing to get his beaten just to get a peek!" he grinned, giving in to his desires, cupping her left breast with his hand that it perfectly fit his palm before squeezing it like a sponge that drew an even louder moan from the blonde woman.

"Ah, don't worry about it… you're the only guy who'll get to enjoy them!" she moaned out, thrusting her hips back to meet Tatsumi's movements that caused their skin to slap against each other every second.

"That's right…" he growled like a real animal, his hand travelling downward to her ass before he gave it a resounding slap, causing her skin to ripple and Leone to scream in pleasure. "You're mine now and I won't let anybody else have you…" he leaned into her ear and whispered hotly, sending a chill down Leone's spine as he slapped her butt again.

"Yes! I'm yours and yours alone, Tatsumi!" she screamed loudly, a blush appearing on her face as she panted slightly. She didn't even care if someone would be able to hear them anymore. "This cat will be there for you whenever you want!"

He pulled on her blonde hair and slapped her ass again, causing it to become slightly red as a result. "You're my mate… and you're going to be a nice kitten in sharing me with Akame." he said, capturing her lips once again in a fiery hot kiss that the two assassins seemed like they were trying to take each other's mouths off. Tatsumi's hands went to her breasts once again as he went even faster, moving in and out her pussy with incredible speed that it finally got the busty blonde to reach her breaking point.

"Tatsumi, this feels way too good! Fuck, I'm gonna cum! You're too good at this!" she announced, and reacting immediately, the brunette hugged her from behind and lifted her up as he sat on the edge of the hot springs, using his superior strength to his advantage.

Leone bounced up and down on his cock once again in a renewed series of thrusts, which finally got him to his limit as well the moment he could feel his member touching the entrance to her womb. "Shit, I'm gonna cum too Leone! I can't hold it in anymore!" he announced, groping her bouncing breasts from behind one last time to ensure that she reaches her climax at the same time as him.

"Ahh, do it inside Tatsumi! Fill me up with that hot cum of yours! Give it all to this selfish cat!" she shouted, her orgasm finally coming close.

"Here it comes!" he shouted as well as Leone slammed back down on his shaft one more time, unloading his second big load inside her pussy, spraying all over her entire womanhood and painting her walls white with his cum. The feeling of Tatsumi's cum flowing inside her sent Leone to the brim as she got pushed to her own orgasm as well; the busty blonde threw her head back and rested it on his shoulder, her juices mixing with his semen that it started to leak out of her pussy simply because it was too much for her to handle.

After both assassins came at the end of their orgasmic bliss, they started to pant heavily before he lifted Leone off his shaft and slowly laid her down beside him on the rocks, letting out a contented sigh afterwards. Tatsumi wiped the sweat off his forehead as he looked at his newfound lover alongside Akame with a smile.

 _ **[*Super Sexy Lemon End*]**_

Leone was breathing heavily as she closed her eyes for a while; their mixed juices were slowly flowing out of her womanhood, but she didn't give a damn. She accomplished what she promised herself that she would do, and now only one thing was left for her to fulfill, and that was talking to Akame personally, but she would worry about that later.

" _Damn… I never thought that he would be this good in sex even though he's a virgin… he can still sit up and I'm guessing he could have another go…"_ she thought to herself. " _Looks like having more than one girlfriend has another good thing coming out of it… I feel bad for Akame if she has to get stuck with a beast like Tatsumi and be unable to fully satisfy him… plus, I doubt that she even knows what sex is…"_ she laughed to herself before opening her eyes and looking up at her new lover. "That was mind-blowing, Tatsumi… are you sure that you haven't done this before?" she teased, sitting up even though she was exhausted as hell.

"Ah, shut it…" he waved her off, planting a deep kiss on her lips before he looked into her eyes. "You were screaming so loud earlier that I barely stopped myself from going all out on you."

"Woah, that wasn't all out already?" she whistled in amazement. "Wow, I'm pretty sure my ass has your handprints on it right now and here I thought that that was everything you had… so there's a much more aggressive side waiting to be unleashed under that sweet and caring look of yours, huh?" she grinned wickedly.

He looked alarmed. "Shit, did it hurt too much? I-I'm sorry if it does, I just did because it was in the heat of the moment. Don't worry, I won't do it again if you —!" he tried to apologize, but Leone cut him off.

"Hush you, I loved every second of it. Maybe you can really go all out on Akame and me after I talk to her," she suggested with a wink before grasping his hand and touched his palm. "Thank you for accepting my feelings, Tatsumi. I love you." she smiled before she felt him squeeze her hand gently as a response.

"I really hope she accepts, by the way. You deserve to be happy as well, Leone. I don't want you to be alone in this. I love you too."

Her smile widened as a lone tear of joy escaped her eye that she quickly wiped off and stood back up on her feet, before lowering herself down on the steaming water. Tatsumi could see her bright red ass as her back was turned to him, and he could only look down in embarrassment.

" _Crap, I think I might have overdone it…"_ he said, blushing deeply even though Leone assured him that it was fine, before he noticed her inviting him to join her in the water. Tatsumi, who was in no place to refuse right now, slid past the rocks on his butt and back into the water. "So what do you want to do now?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Well, how about I continue washing your back? I wasn't done with it earlier because we had our little private time along with it…" she suggested, before leaning closer to his ear. "And then we can go continue this in your room later on… what do you say?"

Tatsumi only sighed and shrugged. "Well, I'm waiting for you right here behind me…" he said, crossing his arms as Leone started giggling before she walked behind him.

Unfortunately for Tatsumi, this was just one of the signs that more crazy and _abnormal_ things like this were on their way to his life.

First it was Akame, now Leone.

Is there someone next in line?

Or will someone else die?

* * *

 _ **How was that lemon? Was it good? Satisfying? Too long for your tastes? Or was it too short? Let me know, okay? Well, just a little recap. Akame got his first kiss but Leone just got his first time… Hehehehe… I wonder which girl gets another one of Tatsumi's "firsts" next… XD. Sayo received Spectator as her teigu and Akame is damn possessive of Tatsumi, even in bed.**_

 _ **Starfall's Info card: Official name**_

 _ **English - Galaxy Manipulation: Starfall**_

 _ **Kanji/Romaji - Ginga Sōsa: Hoshizora (**_ _ **銀河操作：星空**_ _ **)**_

 _ **Harem: Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Sheele, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	9. Kill the Traffickers

"Normal Talking"

 _"Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters…**_

* * *

 **(That Evening; Tatsumi's Bedroom)**

"Hey, Ieyasu…" Tatsumi began, sitting on a chair as he looked at his other childhood friend's picture frame on top of the drawer. "First, I'd like to say I'm sorry man…" he said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "Sorry that I only got to speak with you just now, but I've been kind of busy for the past few weeks… okay, first things first… I want you to know that I did save Sayo from that family of bitches, and she's safe here in our hideout. Speaking of which, I joined an assassin group called Night Raid and Sayo's in it too. Don't worry, though! I'm always keeping an eye on her because I won't let her be put into any kind of danger ever again…"

For the next few minutes, Tatsumi spoke about his adventures, or misadventures rather with Night Raid for the past few weeks. It made him look like a lunatic for speaking with a picture frame but it would at least prevent him from mourning over his personal loss. He also talked about how he and Akame built a special bond ever since he joined and how it led to the girl eventually developing strong romantic feelings for him, leading to its climax when they became official lovers.

In addition to that, although it greatly embarrassed him, he also talked about his _little_ encounter with Leone earlier and how it would lead to him in having two girlfriends in the not-too distant future.

"... so yeah, that pretty much sums up my romantic life. I just hope that Leone does convince Akame with what she's planning because I don't want anyone fighting over me. It's not worth it and they're supposed to be friends who treat each other like family. To be fair, I like both of them that I can't really choose one… and I'm not saying that just to save my own ass. One more thing, Ieyasu." he said as a slight blush stained his cheeks. "I haven't forgotten at all. That crush I have on Sayo? It's still there in me, I can feel it. This doesn't mean that I'm going to go after her already, just because there's a chance that I'm gonna have two girlfriends, okay? She may not show it, but she's still secretly mourning over you, Ieyasu."

At that moment, the door started to creak open a little bit yet Tatsumi was too focused in letting out his feelings.

"I'm doing my best to be like a wall for her, though. Like I said, I'm going to continue to look after her while we're still here. Even if she tells me a thousand times that she's okay and she doesn't need someone looking after her, I will still be there for her. That's how much I care about Sayo."

A short silence took over the area before Tatsumi sighed in defeat.

"All right, I admit it…" he said with a furious blush on his face. "There _is_ some part of me that still wants to try and confess to her… I know it sounds crazy, but if Akame and Leone are willing to share me as their lover then maybe… just maybe, I could tell Sayo the truth and settle with whatever her answer's gonna be. She's the first girl I've had feelings for, and it feels like I'm just throwing that away if I continue to ignore it. I know that I'm a bit afraid of what she's gonna say as an answer, but this won't stop until I step in to solve it myself. And deep down, I don't want to leave her to herself after all this… what if in the future, we somehow all stay alive after this war and then me, Akame, and Leone would be living together inside the same house as a whole family, what would she do then? Go back to the village? Sure, she could go there… but I don't think that she could ever be happy again back there… not when she already lost her parents and you… much as I hate to admit it, I'm all that she has left. I don't care what people say about us. Like me, Sayo deserves a happy life even if we're assassins now. You get what I mean, right?"

Nobody responded once again. Not even the person who was just outside the door, listening to his words.

"Well, if you want me to be honest, I wouldn't really mind having two or more girlfriends… I'm not joking, though. I'm not saying it just so I could get all the girls, but it's because I want everyone to be happy. If having multiple girlfriends is the only way to make sure that Akame and Leone would stay happy, I have no problem with it. Akame's been through so much and she needs someone in her life to support her in every step of the way for the future. The same goes for Leone and possibly, Sayo. But, I'll need to wait for Akame's response to it… so just in case she miraculously accepts…" a perverted smile appeared on his face before he shook it off and turned his attention back to the picture. "Don't get jealous over me, okay?"

Nothing but the sound of wind flowing in from the open window answered his question.

"What am I doing? I'm getting carried away, this isn't going to change anything…" he sighed deeply afterwards and held Ieyasu's picture frame in his arms. "Forgive me, Ieyasu… this is not turning out well for me… I thought that by talking to you personally and letting my feelings out would help me adjust to the recent but massive changes in my life, but it's becoming difficult for —" he turned his head around the moment he heard the door opening and saw a familiar purple-haired assassin walk in as she adjusted her glasses.

"So this is where you were all this time?" Sheele said as she walked up to Tatsumi with a concerned look on her face. "Everybody's waiting for you at the dinner table, and Akame almost skipped making dinner just to find out where you were.

"Oh… hehehe… I-I'm sorry if I made anyone worried about me… I'm fine, though. Nothing's really going on here." Tatsumi said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "It's just… I'm taking care of the sadness I'm feeling in my heart and I think… the only way to do that is if I let it all out right now." He returned the frame where it was last standing earlier. "Somehow, I still feel like that it was partly my fault… I mean, it would've never happened had I found them both sooner. Because of me, he's gone and Sayo nearly died. I'm happy that I'm with Night Raid and fighting with all of you, but —" Tatsumi was stopped when he felt a pair of arms wrap around him. His eyes widened when he felt Sheele pull him closer towards her. "S-Sheele?"

"It's not your fault, Tatsumi." Sheele said as she tightened her hold on the brunette. "You didn't know what was going to happen. But if you want to cry, then go ahead. I'm not telling anybody else about what happened today, but Akame may be an exception."

Tatsumi chuckled, a lone tear falling down the side of his face while he enjoyed Sheele's company. "Are you sure it's okay? You just said that the others are waiting for me, so we should be getting to the dinner table so we could have dinner."

"I think they can make an exception for this." Sheele answered as she laid her head against Tatsumi's. "Everyone will understand what you're going through and I'm sure they'll understand why you're late for dinner."

"That's so like you, Sheele…" Tatsumi said, gently taking hold of Sheele's hand. "But I think we should get going… I'm getting hungry anyways…" he said, leading her out of his bedroom.

 _"I should be thanking you, Tatsumi…"_ Sheele thought, as a slight blush spread across her face while they were walking through the hallways. _"Because of you and Sayo… I finally found something else I'm —"_ she was then cut off from her thoughts when both her and Tatsumi saw that Akame was just standing a few feet away from them, wearing her pink "KUMA-CHAN" apron while holding a ladle in one hand.

"Finally, you showed up." Akame breathed out, looking at her beloved with a concerned expression. "Where were you? I was getting worried and I thought that you might have been abducted by an intruder." she asked, frowning a bit.

"A-Akame!" Tatsumi exclaimed in surprise before he shook his head to recompose himself. He let go of Sheele's hand and stepped forward to hug the red-eyed girl. "I was just… just in my room earlier! I'm sorry if I made you worried about me, okay? It won't happen again, I promise."

"Make sure of it. I had to leave the kitchen and the dish I was cooking just to check up on you." she told him firmly, pulling away from the embrace. "Are you planning to join us for dinner now?"

"Yeah, Sheele just came in my room to pick me up and we were heading to the dining room!" he said with a smile.

Akame raised her eyebrow slightly. "What were you doing in your room?" she asked. "I'd have thought you were out training by yourself and I was just about to head outside as well."

Tatsumi didn't want Akame to know about what just transpired earlier, so he quickly came up with an excuse that would let him off the hook. He didn't want to lie to the girl, but he had to if he had to hide this personal problem of his which he could solve by himself if he wasn't too much of a coward to do so. Still, that didn't stop him from becoming uncomfortable due to the fact that he was hiding things from his _girlfriend_ , who was supposed to be by his side and support him through this.

"I was just taking a nap. My training with Sheele for today took a great deal out of me… right, Sheele?" he said, turning to the purple-haired assassin beside him who just made a confused sound as a response. "Okay, forget it. My point is, I was tired and I just wanted to rest a little bit Akame, okay? It's nothing too big."

"All right, now come on then." she said, beckoning her two assassin comrades to follow her. "I need to get back to the kitchen and continue preparing dinner."

"Sure thing Aka—" Tatsumi stopped himself when he saw something strange with the girl's movements. "...me…" he managed to finish, rubbing his eyes afterwards to see if he was just dreaming. Did he just see what he thought he saw? " _D-Did Akame just —?"_ he thought to himself, noticing how his girlfriend walked back towards the kitchen with a sway to her hips.

 _A sway to her hips._

Tatsumi thought that he must have been hallucinating and he shook his head to try and get it off his mind, but it didn't do anything when he found himself sticking his gaze at the way Akame walked away from him and Sheele. He didn't even notice that Sheele started leading him towards their destination by the hand because his eyes were glued to Akame's backside, yet he managed to shake his head to be rid of any perverted thoughts that he was having at the moment.

" _Okay, I think something just happened with Akame… did Leone talk to her about what happened to us earlier? Who knows? I got the feeling that this night is not gonna end well for me…"_ he thought to himself, sweat-dropping.

It was quite ironic; a fighter like Tatsumi being all embarrassed and powerless in the presence of women (except Mine) when at the same time, he was cunning and ruthless to his enemies that he ends his battles as quickly as possible.

" _I got a feeling that this day's not gonna let me sleep well in bed…"_ he thought to himself, a cold shiver running down his spine at the thought of what a jealous Akame could do to him.

"Oh, Tatsumi?"

Her voice managed to snap him out of his thoughts. However, he was a bit reluctant to even respond but nonetheless, he found himself unable to resist complying. "W-What is it?" he asked nervously.

She stopped in her tracks and looked at him for a brief second. "You look pretty exhausted today. I wonder what happened while you were supposed to be _relaxing_ in the bath." she said with a hint of venom in her tone, causing Tatsumi to gulp audibly.

"Huh? What is Akame talking about?" asked Sheele curiously before she continued leading Tatsumi down the hallways.

" _Yep. I am so fucking dead."_ he groaned internally, preparing for the worst.

That night, Tatsumi couldn't even move a muscle because of how tight Akame held him close to her as if she was trying to say that he belonged to her and _her only_.

* * *

 **(Three Days Later; Capital Slums)**

 _"Hmm, this is a bit different than the usual streets…"_ Tatsumi thought with a yawn, glancing at all the smiling and laughing around him. He was so used to seeing the depressed looks of the capital's citizens, and it was surprising to see even a single person smiling in front of him. It surprised him to see how much attention and praise she was getting from the people around here; Leone walked next to her mate, and enjoyed the attention she received from the people they passed by. _"It's like Leone is a damn celebrity around here."_

"Good day, Leone! Out for a drink?"

"If you have the time, I could use a good shoulder massage! Feeling tired from all the work!"

"Lookin' sexy today, Leone! Let's get drinks some time, what do you say?"

"Leone-neesan! Come play with us! We missed you!"

"Woah, it's like this place is a completely different city from the capital." Tatsumi commented, observing his surroundings with a smile on his face. Seeing people happy in the capital was something fresh and relieving to see, despite the obvious corruption going on behind the scenes. "This place is different from the usual streets we pass by in the capital."

"It's in the spirit to never give in despite everything being a burden." Leone explained, waving to a group of people that welcomed her with smiles and cheers. "When you spend your whole life working hard to live through every day, you learn to be strong and confident to face your personal problems."

"Well, it looks like you're really popular around here, huh?" Tatsumi commented as he yawned again.

"Heh, I grew up here, so this area is my hometown!" Leone said cheerfully before she noticed how Tatsumi's eyes were slightly baggy and a bit red. "Hey, did you even get some sleep last night? You look like you've stayed up late to drink with some friends." she asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"No, I'm fine. I just didn't get to have enough sleep, is all." he waved her off while also doing his best to stay awake.

"How did that happen?"

"Long story, but all I can say is…" Tatsumi began, rubbing the back of his head as he spoke. "Akame made sure that I won't _leave_ her side while we're asleep. Basically, she crushed my bones that I couldn't even move a single muscle while she was hugging me. Only that a damn miracle that I can still breathe right now…" he sighed.

By now, Leone was trying to hold in every inch of laughter that she was suppressing, which got reduced into fits of giggles that made Tatsumi's mood become more sour by the moment. "Oh, I should've been there!" she laughed. "I want to see the look on your face while Akame's holding on to you like a baby!"

"This ain't funny, Leone! There's nothing to laugh about and I think she was acting like that because of you!" he accused, and the busty blonde suddenly stopped to look at him in confusion. "Tell me, did you talk to Akame about what we did a few days ago? You said you will, remember?"

"I did," she nodded.

"What happened?!" he asked immediately, looking for answers to his problem.

"Well, plain and simple. I told her that you bit my hand when we met again the night at that rich family's house, which had my attention drawn to you for the next couple of weeks like a silly crush. Then, I told her about our insane fuck session in the bath afterwards before I finally asked if she was fine with me adding to your relationship with her and make it two girlfriends for Tatsumi… and that's just about it." she shrugged after her whole explanation, and the young man was left hanging.

"Well, what did she say?" he asked. "It might have something to do with her acting weird since last night!"

"Acting weird? What do you mean? Her hugging you to death wasn't weird enough for you?"

He waved her off. "It's not the first time that that happened, you know. Over the course of three days and the days we've slept together since, she's always been like that. She's… being out of herself, you know… she's acting not like her usual self." he said nervously, wondering how would he explain Akame's actions a few nights before.

Leone raised an eyebrow. "How?"

"Well…" he hesitated for a few more seconds, before finally sighing in defeat, realizing that he had no choice but to tell Leone. "Okay, here it is. About two nights ago, I was just in my room resting after you and I did… you know, _that_ and Sheele came to pick me up because everyone was waiting for me at the dinner table."

"Oh, I remember that! That reminds me, what _were_ you doing that time? Surely, you're not having fantasies of you and me doing it after our time together, are you?" she teased with a sexy tone before Tatsumi facepalmed.

"Just hear me out, okay?" he groaned, causing Leone to laugh before finally stopping upon the sight of Tatsumi's serious look. "As I was saying, Akame was acting really strange a few days ago. It happened when Sheele came in my room to pick me up for dinner and while we were on our way to all of you, Akame suddenly appeared out of nowhere and scolded a bit but then that's when she…" a blush appeared on his face as he thought about it.

"That's when she what?"

"She…" his voice started to become softer and softer. "I noticed her… swaying her hips intentionally while… while she was walking away…"

"Huh?"

Tatsumi cleared his throat and tried to speak a bit louder, yet his voice was still too soft to be heard by anyone. "She was swaying her hips side-to-side while leading the way towards the dining room…"

"Tatsumi, if you want me to help you, you're gonna have to speak louder than —

"SHE WAS SWAYING HER HIPS SIDE-TO-SIDE WHILE WALKING AWAY FROM ME, HAPPY?!" he said out of frustration, clutching his own hair tightly afterwards.

Leone blinked a few times before her processed his words and it didn't take long for the girl to fully understand what he was saying and as a sign of it, Leone began to laugh loudly. Tatsumi could only massage his forehead and groan as Leone clutched her stomach while tears started flowing out of her eyes due to laughing so much. In all honesty, he was expecting this kind of reaction from her but Tatsumi could only wish that he wasn't stressed out right now so he could tolerate it.

"Ahahahahahahahaha, oh I wish I could have been there to see your face, Tatsumi!" she laughed. "Seriously?! Akame's swaying those hips like a model? She's never been like that before… I wonder what got her to do that…"

"Exactly my point…" he sighed. "It must have something to do with you and Akame talked about a few days ago. What was her reaction to your question and how did she answer? Did she agree to letting you share me or not? I don't have time for any more games, Leone."

"All right, all right, you win." she said, waving her hands in defeat. "Okay, I think I got a pretty good idea on why she's acting weird like what you're saying, but you're gonna have to find out the truth for yourself."

"Tell me!" he sounded a bit desperate, but he wanted to solve this problem as soon as possible.

"I think Akame is jealous."

"Jealous?" Tatsumi blinked in confusion. "Jealous how?"

"Would you look at that? Looks like you're an idiot sometimes!" she grinned, causing him to scowl at her. "All right, let me explain a bit. After I told her everything I needed to tell her a few days ago, she said nothing in return and just walked away. Literally nothing, even though I tried pressing her to say even a simple yes or no, she kept shaking her head and walked out on me. Although I did notice her face burning red, so she must be embarrassed with what I told her."

"I see… that makes sense…" he said, rubbing his chin with his finger. "What makes you think she was jealous then? There should be a reason, right?"

Much to his surprise, Leone waved her finger in front of his face left and right while flashing a smirk. "Ah ah ah, I told you that you'd have to find out for yourself, remember?" she grinned, and Tatsumi scoffed in response, feeling annoyed that he was denied his answer.

"Fine, I'll do this on my own." he grumbled before Leone started laughing once again and pattes him strongly on the back, causing a tick mark to appear on his head.

"Hey! There she is!" a new voice called out from behind both assassins that caught their attention. "Leone!" The blonde girl's eyes shot wide open as soon as she recognized the three men running towards them. "Pay for your tab or you'll never drink a single ale from me again!"

"Settle your gambling debts, woman!"

"Give me back the money you stole from my brother, bitch!"

"Time to run for it, Tatsumi!" Leone said as she took off running for the opposite direction. And only a few seconds passed, she was surprised when Tatsumi caught up to her with no effort at all.

 _"Even if he's not relying on his teigu… his speed is easily better than a regular human's. What kind of training did he do to be this fast? I'm the second fastest member in the group next to Akame, and he can keep up with the both of us without even looking tired at all."_

"Are those really friends of yours?" Tatsumi calmly asked, jumping over a food cart in front of him. "Because I don't think they're happy to see you."

"Hey, don't worry about them!" she replied as she ducked, evading a glass bottle that was thrown towards her by one of their pursuers. "Well?! What are you gonna say about this? This place is pretty interesting! It's got action, happiness, peace, and violence all at the same time!"

"I'm worried about you getting targeted for your head! Got any bright ideas?" Tatsumi asked, wall-running for a few seconds through the building next to him in order to dodge a group of kids playing in front of him.

Leone quickly thought about her options at the moment before she grinned wickedly. She just thought of a way to escape from the men, get what she wanted, and force Akame to do something instead of being as quiet as a pin. They still had time before their mission, so this would be a perfect opportunity for her to make one last move before Akame has him to herself either tonight or the next day.

"Okay Tatsumi! We need to split up for a second, but keep your eyes on me okay?!" Leone yelled as she jumped over a few trash cans, evading them completely before sliding towards a new alleyway. After seeing that the busty blonde was now off the trail and he was left alone in the streets, chased away by a mob of angry men.

 _"That alleyway, huh?"_ he thought to himself as he sprinted away and slipped into another one of the many alleys. By taking alternate jumps between the walls, he quickly climbed towards the rooftop of one of the buildings to get out of sight, where he remained for about a minute before seeing that the men were already fooled by his simple but clever trick.

"Damn it! Where the hell did blondie and her boyfriend go?!"

"Come on! They couldn't have gotten far!"

"We can still catch up and make Leone pay for her debts to us! They're just around the corner!"

"Well, that takes care of that…" Tatsumi sighed to himself before he started searching around for the place where he last saw Leone. " _Where did I last see her again? Where the heck was that alleyway she ran off through? Hmm, I think it's that one… let's give it a try…"_ Without giving it any more second thoughts, he rushed towards his destination and jumped down from the top, unafraid of any injuries he might sustain from a fall from that height.

" _Now to find that cat… I just hope she didn't run away from me to steal some money, though."_ he sweat-dropped to himself as he landed before looking around to get a view of his surroundings. However, before he knew it, he was pulled back and got slammed against the wall. Focusing his gaze on whoever did this, he saw that Leone was right in front of him, holding on to his jacket tightly as she licked her lips. "L-Leone, what's the meaning of this?" he asked in nervousness as soon as he noticed her particular action.

"Tatsumi, what do you say we have some fun right now? You looked stressed because you haven't gotten any sleep… I should take away that stress off you, don't you think?" she said seductively.

He gulped before responding in an alarmed tone. "Are you out of your mind?! We're on a mission but the only thing you're thinking right now is sex?! Give me a break… I need sleep, not this Leone…" he said as he tried to push her away.

"Oho, then I'm gonna have so much fun with you Tatsumi…" the busty blonde said as she began licking his neck before her hand moved down towards the zipper of his pants…

Tatsumi had to keep his hand clamped over Leone's mouth so that nobody would hear them for the next few hours.

* * *

 **(That Night; Capital's Red Light District)**

"So this is the red light district? Looks pretty exciting from up here." Tatsumi said, watching the crowds of people walking below him. The street was lined with dozens of brothels and bars; the air was filled with smoke and laughter while different men hopped from bar to bar in search of a good and pleasurable experience.

"I agree… but your attitude in sex is more exciting that I'm getting wet again just thinking about what happened earlier!" Leone said, ruffling the top of Tatsumi's hair while he only blushed in embarrassment. "Now come on. I've got to work so I could pay back those debts. _**Transform! Lionel!**_ " Tatsumi then watched as Leone's body was covered in brilliant golden flames. Her hair grew longer and cat ears appeared on top of her head. Afterwards, her hands turned into large claws before a medium-length tail sprouted out of her back. Tatsumi was left stunned in his place at witnessing Leone's incredible teigu and she couldn't help but smirk at him. "If you're done staring, we can proceed now Tatsumi…"

"Of course!" Tatsumi said with a wide grin, as he gave Leone a thumbs up while also trying to suppress his embarrassment.

"Good." Leone said with a smile as she prepared to take off. "Now, we're going to sneak right in and kill the target, Tatsumi. Make sure to follow my lead, okay? And don't fly too far off, otherwise we'll be seen."

"Roger," Tatsumi replied, unsheathing _**Starfall**_. Seeing that Tatsumi had his ticket out of there, Leone launched herself off the roof they were standing on. In a matter of a few seconds, Leone was already in front of the target's building. Bracing herself for impact, Leone crashed through a window on the building's top floor. Once she was inside, Leone stopped briefly to look around and check if she alerted any guards. But after hearing nothing for a few moments, she stood up and gave a signal far towards Tatsumi.

 _"Time to fly."_ Tatsumi thought to himself as his body glowed yellow and flew towards the building with incredible speed, reaching it in only a few seconds faster than Leone did. As soon as he reached the place, he stopped and sheathed his sword before he felt Leone hugging him close to her chest.

"Damn, not only fast in running but also in flying? You give both me and Akame a run for our money!" Leone grinned but Tatsumi only threw her a knowing look. Giggling at his reaction, Leone then pointed to a loose floor panel. "Alright, let's get this over with! We've got work to do!" Tatsumi walked over and looked down below at what was happening.

Below was a room filled with half-naked girls and a big cloud of smoke. Tatsumi immediately recognized on sight that the smoke was opium and signalled for his partner to be careful. Both assassins covered their mouths and noses so they wouldn't inhale the drug before two men entered the room with wicked looks on their faces.

"Oh!" The man with an eyepatch said. "Very nice! Very nice, indeed. If you girls earn good money for us tonight, we'll send more 'medicine' exclusive for you!"

"Yes, sir!" All of the girls cooed in their drugged states.

"Huh?" The other man muttered, feeling something tug on his right leg. Looking down, he spotted one of the girls laughing hysterically and appeared to be barely conscious. "Boss… look at this one."

"Ah, that girl is no use to us now." The man with the eyepatch said, eyeing the girl with disgust before smirking. "She smells like shit. She's obviously broken by now."

"Gimme more!" The girl whined, tugging on the man's right leg again before she began touching herself. "I want more!"

"Get rid of her." the boss said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "We can just get a new girl to replace her in time."

"Got it, boss." the second man said, pulling out a switchblade before stabbing the girl in the neck, killing her immediately. Up above, Leone felt something trigger inside her as she watched the girl fall to the floor in a pool of her own blood. The man chuckled to himself before using a towel to wipe his blade clean. "Now let's go make a call to those other sluts in the slums."

"Heh, those dumb broads will do anything for money." the boss said with an evil smirk.

"What a bunch of monsters, just like what the client said…" Tatsumi said, narrowing his eyes. "I say we kill them slowly and painfully."

"That girl he just killed…" Leone muttered darkly, her wild blonde hair hiding her eyes that had a lot of rage and anger underneath. "She was a friend of mine growing up…" Leone growled and stood up before punching her fist into her other hand. "Now I'm fucking pissed as hell. Let's kill these assholes now!"

"Got it… I'll deal with the boss and you get the guy who killed her." Tatsumi said, holding his sword tightly in his grasp. "After everything that's happened today, I'd like to release some _more_ stress."

In the neighboring room, the boss grinned evilly as one of his men handed him a drink. He released a sigh of contentment as he sunk into his usual seat,with two girls walking up and hung off his arms, rubbing their large breasts against him.

"Boss…" said the man who had unknowingly killed Leone's friend. "We should think about expanding our territory and area of operations, don't you think? We can have more girls if that were to happen and it will double our profits."

"That sounds like an excellent idea." the boss answered, taking a sip of his drink. "I'll talk to Sir Chibul tomorrow to relay that plan towards him… in the meantime, let's enjoy these sluts for what they're —!" the ceiling then exploded open, causing both men to stumble back and two figures dropped into the room.

"The only place you're going…" Tatsumi and Leone said in unison. "Is hell!"

"A-Assassins!" the boss yelled with anger as he pointed at Leone and Tatsumi. "Kill them!" Upon hearing his order, a dozen guards charged towards the two teenagers.

"I'll handle them." Tatsumi said, unsheathing _**Starfall**_ before sprinting towards the henchmen. "Time to fly!" he yelled out as he flew towards the first five men that he came across, before effortlessly killing them with one quick slice through their necks, keeping his momentum with every kill. After taking out the fifth one, he sidestepped quickly in order to evade an attack from behind before he used it to his advantage and impaled the one behind him; he then brought out his pistol and shot another henchman in front of him through the eyes, before he ducked to evade a knife swing from one who just approached him from the side.

Tatsumi withdrew his sword and stabbed it on the floor and quickly retaliated against the henchman with an assault of his own, ending with a stiff headbutt that brought the man down on the floor hard. The brunette didn't even hesitate to retrieve his sword immediately before impaling the man he had just brought down, ending his life as quick as a bullet passing. Tatsumi let out a deep sigh as he pulled _**Starfall**_ out of the man's chest, and all eight dead bodies could be seen lying on the ground around him.

 _"Holy fuck! He killed them all in less than ten seconds?! His speed and skills in fighting are on another level, no wonder I don't feel the need to train him!"_ Leone thought as she stared at Tatsumi in awe. As she stood there stunned, a second wave of guards surrounded her, which snapped her back into reality. "Well, I can't let Tatsumi have all of the fun. Time to make _my_ move!" Leone had a feral grin on her face as she cracked her neck.

"Our target is this whole disgusting drug trafficking ring, so you're all guilty, which is punishable… by death." The guards nodded at each other, before all of them charged Leone at once. "Fine, I'll take all of you out at the same time." A look of pure satisfaction appeared on Leone's face as she took out three guards with a series of attacks. Almost immediately afterwards, she whipped her leg around and her foot slammed into the side of another guard, sending him crashing into three more henchmen. With the monumental strength granted by _**Lionelle**_ , Leone's kick sent the four men flying across the room and crashing into the wall, killing them all instantly upon impact.

"Y-You gotta be fucking k-k-kidding me…" the guard with the switchblade breathed out of fear, before pulling out a gun and aiming at Leone. "You ain't killing me that easily!"

"Not quite! You'll be even easier to kill now!" Tatsumi exclaimed, flying past Leone. Using his speed advantage, he sliced through most of the man's arm, preventing him from using his gun. The guard roared in pain, stumbling back as the remaining part of his flesh sprayed blood. Tatsumi quickly sheathed his sword and swept him off his feet before planting his feet on top of the man's chest, preventing him from escaping. The brunette turned towards his companion and smirked. "All yours, Leone."

"Payback's a bitch." Leone said coldly with an evil look, as she walked over towards the two and raised her foot. The last thing the poor man saw was Leone's fierce golden eyes, before the busty blonde crushed his face with a single stomp. With a sigh of pleasure escaping her lips, Leone then made her way towards boss.

The man began to back away in fear until he reached the wall behind him, preventing him from running away. Upon reaching him, Leone tightly gripped his throat and lifted him into the air, grinning ear-to-ear.

"W-What are you after?!" the boss exclaimed as he tried to pry her fingers off his neck, struggling to breath when he felt the life being drained out of him "Do you want money?! Drugs?! I'll give you anything you want! Please, just let me live!"

"Oh, I so _hate_ it when scum like you beg for their lives." Leone said as she cocked her fist back. "The only thing I want is your life."

"W-What are you?!" the boss asked through gritted teeth, his face starting to turn purple from the lack of air.

"I'm just a good-for-nothing." Leone said as her fist rammed forward, piercing straight through the man's stomach, creating a large hole in the process and causing the man's eyes to widen in shock. The drug boss immediately vomited a large amount of blood when Leone pulled her fist out of his stomach before letting him go. The man staggered for a moment before he fell forward into a pool of his own blood. "That's why I get rid of douchebags like you."

"Come on Leone…" Tatsumi said as he walked towards her, placing a warm hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Let's free those girls at the other room and bury your friend. Our job is done."

 **(Half an Hour Later)**

"That doctor you knew around here wasn't half-bad… I think I know who to go to whenever I have injuries now." Tatsumi said with a light smile, as he shoved his hands into his coat pocket.

"Well, he's pretty good for an old pervert." Leone said, walking with her hands behind her head. "He loves young girls because according to him, we're lively and we love to babble, so he was thrilled to help them. With his help they can probably get over their drug addictions, and eventually maybe live normal lives after some times."

"Heh, you're such a big softie under that animalistic attitude, Leone." Tatsumi said with a grin, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek.

"Well it was because my friend was one of those girls that became victims, so I couldn't let the others suffer the same fate…" Leone said, scratching the back of her head.

"Your reason doesn't matter, no matter what it is. So long as you gave those girls some hope, you did the right thing." Tatsumi said, which caused Leone's golden eyes to widen before she flashed him a confident smirk.

"Aw, those are some very kind words Tatsumi… did you practice them for me?" she said, her voice taking a seductive tone as he gulped. He knew where this was heading to, but it wasn't the right time to play Leone's games.

"L-Leone, we s-shouldn't be doing t-this." Tatsumi stuttered out as the busty blonde pressed her breasts against his arm. "We still haven't settled things with Akame, remember? Besides, we're already spent time earlier remember? Don't tell me you're not satisfied with that?"

"Oh don't worry about Akame that much Tatsumi." Leone said, smirking. "I'll help you deal with this issue, and in the end you'll have two girlfriends before you know it." Leone leaned forward so that she could whisper hotly into Tatsumi's ear. "Plus, I'm doing this on purpose so she could make her move sooner. Why do you think she was acting _weird_ a few nights ago? She drank something that caused her to be like that?"

"Leone, can this wait until we get back to base?" Tatsumi asked, avoiding the blonde assassins lustful gaze with a huff. "We can talk more there and we'll attract attention if you continue this here because I'm one hair strand away from taking you away from here and give you what you deserve."

"Alright… maybe I'm pushing this too far. I should give Akame her time too, don't you think?" Leone said with a smirk as she walked ahead of him. "Let's get back and give our report then. Hmm, I wonder how the others are doing back at base?"

"Sure let's go… I can't wait to eat something for dinner." Tatsumi said, wrapping an arm around Leone's shoulder and pulled her closer to him, and the busty blonde enjoyed the feeling of being close to her mate. _"I wonder if Akame will really be okay with this. She didn't seem to care when I almost told her about Sayo, in fact, she just ignored it before I could say anything. Anyway, I don't want her or Leone to fight over me. They're friends, and friends shouldn't fight over something as petty as love."_ he thought to himself.

* * *

 **(Northern Tribe's Capital Fortress)**

The scene in the Northern Tribe's capital was one that showed absolute slaughter. Hundreds of corpses, killed in a variety of ways, filled the streets everywhere. Soldiers were frozen in solid chunks of ice, civilians were crucified openly, and decapitated bodies were nearly everywhere. In the capital's fortress, Numa Seika, who was heralded as the 'Hero of the North' was naked and chained around the neck. The once mighty man was now mentally broken, and had become nothing but a panting mess. A tug on Numa's chain caused him to gaze up at the one who had conquered him and his people. The woman's stare could be described as cold as the ice she used to crush his forces. She woman presented her boot to Numa, and he obediently licked it.

"Man, the Northern tribe was defeated in no time." A capital soldier commented, as he stared at the destruction around him. "Just as we'd expect from the great General Esdeath!"

"The soldiers' and civilians' moral have been shattered." Another soldier added, staring at the pathetic man that Numa had become. The once great hero had a dazed look in his eyes and his tongue hung out of his mouth.

"Tch, this is the man known as the 'Hero of the North?' Such lies." Esdeath said, glaring harshly at Numa. "You were nothing more than a simple nuisance for me. Now die." With one swift kick, Esdeath's heeled boot pierced his skull, spurting his blood all across the floor around him. "How pathetic…" Esdeath rose from her seat, her army at her back as she smirked. "Is there no one who can put up a good challenge against me as a worthy opponent?"

* * *

 _ **Harem: Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Sheele, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	10. Kill the Jealousy

_**HAPPY ALL SOULS' DAY! Just a little announcement. This November is my birth month, so I may or may not be able to write more often than I should, but don't worry! I'll be back soon before you know it, as long as I don't laze around in writing, that is.**_

"Normal Talking"

 _"Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters…**_

* * *

 **(The Next Morning; Night Raid's Hidden Base)**

"Oi, Tatsumi!" Lubbock called out, as he knocked loudly on Tatsumi's door. "It's almost nine o'clock, man! Get your ass outta bed or I'm kicking this door down!" Receiving no response in return, Lubbock knocked on the door again with a little more force. "Hey Tatsumi, did you forget I'm training you for a few hours?! Then you're back to Akame again after that!"

Again, nobody answered.

Still not hearing anything from Tatsumi, Lubbock let out an annoyed huff. "Fine! I'm coming in then! Like I care what complain you're gonna make after I throw you off the bed!" he grabbed the doorknob pushed the door open with force. "I got you now!"

After taking less than three steps inside the room, Lubbock immediately realized why Tatsumi wasn't responding to him.

Tatsumi's head was buried right between Leone's breasts… and he was basically lying on top of her. Both were still clothed, by the way and there was nothing else in the room but the smell of fresh air.

Lubbock stood frozen in place in shock from what he just saw in front of him. It took a few seconds to react differently from that as he hung his head in defeat, his hair covering his eyes. _"W-What just happened here last night?"_ he thought to himself. " _Don't tell me… Leone and Tatsumi, they… HOLY SHIT! Don't tell me they had —"_

"Lubbock…" an angry voice hissed, causing the green-haired man to pale, snapping him out of his thoughts. Slowly turning his head, Lubbock yelped in fear when he saw that Leone was awake, and her eyes were brimming with rage and anger, letting him know that she wasn't happy about his sudden intrusion. Leone's voice was deadly serious and it didn't give way for an argument. "If I find out that you told someone about this, I will crush your balls with my bare hands. Do you understand?"

Lubbock rapidly nodded his head in fear as he tried to stop himself from pacing back and forth. "There's a good boy. Now would you shut the hell up? I'll wake Tatsumi up in a few minutes for you, I just want to cuddle with him a little longer."

"A-Alright then…" Lubbock stuttered out, as he turned around to leave the room. "I'll w-wait for him at the training field!" As Lubbock rushed out of the room, Leone hugged hugged her beloved closer to her body before she purred lovingly.

Lubbock released a heavy sigh, closing the door behind him as he quickly headed for the training field. He placed a hand on his chest, over his racing heart. _"I legit thought I was going to die right there… and Leone isn't kidding… she definitely meant what she said… I have to keep my mouth shut… even with Najenda-san…"_

"What's up with you Lubbock? It looks like you just met Death himself, or something." The sudden voice caused the green-haired man to nearly jump out of his skin because he was still recovering from his encounter with Leone earlier. He looked up to see Mine staring blankly at him. She had her hands on her hips, and was raising an eyebrow. "Why are you standing outside Tatsumi's room, by the way?"

"I-It's nothing!" Lubbock replied, frantically waving his arms. "I just came to tell Tatsumi to wake up because we have some training to do, but he wasn't answering so I'm just going to wait for him at the training grounds!"

"Oh… if you want, I'll wake him up for you then." Mine said as she walked towards the door.

"No, no, no! There's no need for that!" Lubbock exclaimed, waving his hands frantically in front of him. "He did wake up eventually, and he said that he'd met me at the training grounds! So there's no need for you to walk inside his room!"

"You're acting really weird, Lubbock." Mine said in as she crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "You're not trying to hide something from me, are you?"

"N-NO! No, of course not!" Lubbock shouted immediately, before he cleared his throat to recompose himself. "Why would I hide something from you Mine?" he said with a grin that had no sign of nervousness underneath it.

"Hmm…" she hummed, trying to see if Lubbock was really hiding something or not. _"He's definitely nervous a while earlier… why though? Did he walk in on Tatsumi while he was changing or something? Oh… Oh my God…"_ Mine's entire face burned red in embarrassment as she imagined Tatsumi's naked body.

"O-Oi, Mine…" Lubbock called out, noticing that the pinkette's face was becoming redder by the second. "Are you okay? Because you're looking really red. Do you have a fever or something? Are you feeling alright?"

"Huh?" she muttered before realizing that she had been caught daydreaming. "N-No! I'm totally fine! Just shut up!" With an annoyed huff, Mine stormed off down the hallway in a frantic way. _"Lubbock is definitely hiding something from me, I need to get to the bottom of this!"_

"The hell was that all about?" Lubbock said, watching Mine slam the door behind her as she entered her room, still red-faced in embarrassment. "Well anyways, that was too close…" he released a heavy sigh and began to head towards the training grounds.

As Lubbock walked through the halls, he turned his head to look out a window and he saw Akame attacking a group of practice dummies. The raven-haired assassin bore the same poker face that she always has, yet the way she was training was a different story. She was attacking a bit harsher and more dangerously than her usual fighting style, as if she was letting out stress. But that was strange, because Akame wasn't one to be stressed out by almost anything.

"Something doesn't make sense here… from what I remember, Akame and Tatsumi were getting really close. I mean, she's been with him ever since he joined us and they've been practically inseparable for the past weeks… so why was he with Leone earlier? I thought he'd be with Akame…" A perverted grin suddenly spread across Lubbock's face and he began to rub his hands together in a mischievous manner. "I have a feeling that something very sexy is going on between those three. Sorry Najenda-san, but I'm gonna have to play detective for a while… hehehe…"

 **(Fifteen Minutes Later; Night Raid's Training Grounds)**

"You sure took your _sweet_ time, lover boy!" Lubbock called out when he saw Tatsumi heading towards him. "How are you feeling after your good night's sleep between some _comfortable_ pillows?"

"Hey, don't call me that when the others are here!" Tatsumi whispered, a small blush dusting across his features out of embarrassment. "And I thought Leone warned you about telling the others?"

"Yeah she did, but she never said I couldn't tease you. Besides, it's only the two of us here." Lubbock replied with wide smirk and Tatsumi only rolled his eyes in response. "So…" The green-haired boy started nudging Tatsumi with his elbow playfully. "How was Leone, dude? Was she an animal in the sheets? Or did you show her who was the alpha? How were her tits? Were they good like I always thought? Come on man, give me some details!"

"I'm not telling you anything, so mind your own business." Tatsumi said, taking a step back as he planted his hands inside of his pockets. "This is between me and Leone, so don't butt in."

"Between you and Leone, eh?" Lubbock muttered as he rubbed his chin. "So you really love her, and this wasn't just a one time thing?"

"Obviously," Tatsumi replied. "I'd never sleep with Leone and then just abandon her the next day like any other drunken bastard out there. I care for her too much to even do that. Point is, I love her too."

"Good… that's just what I wanted to hear." Lubbock said, a small smile spreading across his face. "Because if I found out that you were actually planning on abandoning Leone…" Lubbock flexed his index finger, and Tatsumi's whole body was suddenly wrapped in _**Cross Tail's**_ wires, rendering him unable to move as he fell to the ground. "I would have had to kill you…" Tatsumi sent him a glare as soon as he was released from the wires, standing up from the ground. "Lesson one, Tatsumi. You must find a way to lure your enemies into your traps. Now look down."

Without saying anything more, he glanced down at his feet. Tatsumi's eyes widened slightly when he saw that he was currently standing on top of one of Lubbock's wires. "When did this —" he stopped himself when a sudden realization took over him. "Wait a minute, when you nudged me… you knew I'd step back on to your wire?"

"Yep!" Lubbock replied with a grin. "Deception is one of an assassin's most important tools, especially when it comes to setting traps. If you can deceive your enemies well, they'll easily fall into any traps you set."

"Looks like I have a lot to learn then. I'm not much of a tactical guy, hehehe…" Tatsumi said, shrugging. "Well, let's get to work then. I still have to train with Akame after this… her Strong Style is improving more and more and I can't miss it."

"Alright, let's do it." Lubbock said, gesturing to a table that was set up just behind them. "I have a bunch of different traps set up over here, we can use them."

Over the next few hours, Lubbock taught Tatsumi as much as he could about traps. He showed the brunette how to effectively hide traps, how tripwires and triggers work, dig a pitfall trap and add spikes to it, create homemade traps and explosives, defuse and disarm traps, and predict enemy movements to know where to hide them.

"So basically, everything is up to your imagination." Lubbock finished as he closed his eyes, beginning to put his equipment away since they were already done. "The traps that you set can be simple or complex as you want it to be, but it all comes down to what you have available and how much time you have to prepare everything."

"Damn, some of these are so complicated to understand." Tatsumi said, examining a demo mine that Lubbock used to show how to properly defuse one. "There's so many little parts that are essential to the whole thing."

"Hmph, like I said, a trap can be simple or complex as you want it to be. I'd recommend you doing simple ones for now, though." Lubbock said as he finished packing away his equipment. "So…" Lubbock glanced over his shoulder and sent a smirk towards Tatsumi. "You and Leone, huh?"

"You're not gonna stop, aren't you?" Tatsumi complained, handing the demo mine back to Lubbock as the green-haired man only shrugged in response, which finally got Tatsumi to sigh in defeat. "Yes, we're together. Lovers, boyfriend/girlfriend, sweethearts, what more do you want? What's the big deal, anyway?"

"I just wanted to confirm something I've been wondering about." Lubbock explained as he placed the mine back into his pack. "I just thought you and Akame were getting pretty close than anyone could even notice it… I thought you two would end up together, so it surprised me that you were with Leone."

Tatsumi immediately paled.

The green-haired man smirked as he watched Tatsumi's shoulders tense and his face be drained of all color. _"So, there's more to it eh? I gotcha right where I want ya!"_

"W-Well… y-y-you see… Akame a-and I are… are…" Tatsumi stuttered, quickly trying to think of a possible excuse. Being inexperienced in the aspect of romance and relationships, he didn't know how to handle this particular problem, let alone having two women who loved him equally.

"Yes?" Lubbock grinned as he took a step closer to Tatsumi so he could get a better hearing of what his answer was. This was definitely hot news and he had to find out more about it. "You and Akame are what, lover boy?"

"Lubbock…" Tatsumi sighed, taking a glance around the training grounds to make sure that no one was there except for the two of them. After making sure that they were indeed alone, Tatsumi grabbed Lubbock by his jacket and pulled him closer to him. As soon as he spoke, it was clear that he was serious and he wasn't playing the nice guy. "This secret stays between us, and if I found out that you just gossipped about this throughout the whole base, I'll make sure that your face gets _roughened_ up badly." he hissed.

 _"Holy shit, I don't want to mess with this guy! If I was his enemy, I'd be peeing my pants!"_ Lubbock thought, as he nodded rapidly out of fear.

"I'm in love with both Akame and Leone." Tatsumi explained as he let go of him, causing the latter to raise an eyebrow in confusion. "And… I'm dating both of them." As soon as he noticed the seriousness in his comrade's voice, Lubbock's eyes shot open. "Well, it's not exactly like that for now. I still have to fix things up with Akame before it becomes official because… she's acting weird around me for the past days."

"W-What are you going on about here?" Lubbock asked, ignoring Tatsumi's last statement. "Is this for real? Did you just tell me that you're dating two incredibly hot bombshells?"

"So far? Pretty much." Tatsumi replied, causing Lubbock to jaw-drop. "I'm in love with the both of them, and I want them to be happy. As long as they're okay with sharing me, that is. I'm gonna have a problem if Akame doesn't agree with what Leone wants to happen."

This time, it caught Lubbock's attention. "What do you mean Akame won't agree?" he asked.

Tatsumi then went on to explain the whole talk that happened between Leone and Akame regarding the brunette that they both held feelings for, and how it led to the suspicion that the raven-haired assassin is jealous over what happened with her friend and Tatsumi. Of course, Tatsumi didn't mention anything about his _private time_ with the busty blonde, but he did tell Lubbock about how he didn't want Leone and Akame to fight over him and risk their friendship.

"Damn…" Lubbock muttered, rubbing his chin. "I never knew that there was a jealous side of Akame that acts like that… look man, I'm not typically the one to give advice on situations like this, but I think you should go talk to her. Waiting for her to act and go to you will only make matters worse and it'll slowly destroy your relationship with her. I don't know much about Akame because she mostly keeps her problems to herself, but her mindset in both fighting and everyday life is always 'go for the kill and don't hesitate'. Take it as a way to finally get an answer from her, you know?"

"Woah, I… I never thought of it that way. I guess… that makes sense…" Tatsumi said as a smile slowly started to spread across his face. "All right, I'll talk to her as soon as I can… this whole waiting around thing is killing me by the second… thanks, Lubbock!" he grinned, patting his friend on the shoulder.

"Yeah, good for you…" Lubbock rolled his eyes and tried his best not to get jealous of Tatsumi's luck. "Just go and continue on to your training with your girlfriend… she could be getting impatient by the moment, you know? Make sure to take my advice, or you'll get your ass whooped."

"Okay? I guess… I'll catch you later then!" Tatsumi exclaimed as he ran off in search of a certain red-eyed assassin. " _What's his problem?"_ he finished in his thoughts as he sent Lubbock one last glance.

 **(30 Minutes Later)**

"Time to fly!" Tatsumi exclaimed as he charged towards Akame. Both assassins clashed against each other with their practice swords, and they began to try pushing the other back. At first, it looked like Akame had the advantage, but her eyes widened when Tatsumi suddenly began to slowly overpower her. She tried to use her leg to kick an opening that she noticed at his side, before he denied it by kneeing her attack away, also causing her defense to crumble.

With one last strong push, Tatsumi sent Akame skidding backwards. Tatsumi didn't give Akame time to recover at all, as he rushed in to go for the finishing blow. However, Akame won't allow herself to be defeated so easily, even if her opponent was her beloved.

The red-eyed girl dug her feet into the ground to stop herself and rushed towards Tatsumi to meet his attack. However, the brunette was waiting for her to react this way, finally coming up with a way to counter Akame's almost unbeatable expertise in swordsmanship. Tatsumi met Akame's strike with his own, clashing with her sword before he spinned to the right and slid his weapon off hers, causing him to be positioned behind her. Almost immediately, he struck both of her legs and Akame fell down on the ground on her stomach, defeated.

She rolled over on her back only to find Tatsumi pointing his weapon towards her neck before she looked up to stare into his green eyes. "Impressive… you managed to catch me off guard." Akame said with a small smile on her face before Tatsumi pulled her back up to her feet. "Well done, Tatsumi… that was the first time that you have won against me in training. You really have been improving, and at a fast rate too." she smiled at him.

"Thanks…" he replied, planting his hands on his hips and panted slightly. "It's really hard to win against you, you know? But let this not be the last time you train me, okay Akame? I still want to learn more from you, and please fight a bit more seriously next time against me."

"You could get hurt, Tatsumi."

"Who do you think I am, some newbie just like what Mine has been saying?" he answered, feeling offended. "You forget that I'm a skilled fighter from my village, so if you don't make it harder for me, nothing will really improve with me. Don't worry, you could never hurt me Akame. I know."

"I see your point…" Akame said, nodding in response. "All right, during our next training session, I shall fight you more aggressively to keep your swordsmanship healthy and fresh."

"Thanks… but you know, I can't say the same for your Strong Style though. You may have been improving, but it'll probably take months for you to get at my level and fight me evenly."

"I know. I'll just have to focus a bit more on my training under you. I use a weapon almost all the time during battle that I don't think I need to." Akame said as she turned her gaze to the side, and now things have gotten quiet between them. Tatsumi wondered why she wasn't saying anything more, but then he realized that this is exactly what Lubbock was talking about earlier.

 _"She still must be feeling jealous… I need to resolve this before she gets emotionally hurt or whatever…"_ Tatsumi thought to himself, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Akame, there's… there's something important I have to tell you." he said, gaining her attention as she turned her head to look at him. "I don't want you to feel —!"

Unfortunately, Tatsumi had to duck underneath a punch from his side that came out of nowhere. He then looked up to see Bulat grinning at him. "What the hell, Aniki?!"

"Nice reflexes, Tatsumi." Bulat grinned as he crossed his arms over his broad chest. "You said you wanted this to be harder, so I thought I'd throw in some obstacles to make sure you were paying attention to your surroundings as well. I'm glad to see that you were paying attention, because an enemy can come for you anywhere and anytime." Bulat quirked an eyebrow as he watched Tatsumi dust himself off. "You seem way into training more than usual… did something happen?"

"No, nothing happened." Tatsumi replied, cracking his knuckles. "I just wanted to stay in top shape and make sure that I'm not slacking. And then, probably try to be stronger than what I am right now…"

"Woah, now that's good!" Bulat exclaimed, slapping Tatsumi on the back hard enough to make him stumble a few steps forward. "You know, if you want to be stronger, you should come with me then!" Bulat turned Tatsumi around so that he could look him in the eyes. The large man grinned and pointed to himself with his thumb. "I'll train you the right way, Tatsumi!"

"Aniki, you know that I'm still training with Akame right?" Tatsumi said with an embarrassed grin; it wasn't like that he didn't want to train with Bulat, but he really did want to settle things with Akame and this might be the only good time where that could happen.

"Go on..." Akame sighed, a small smile appearing on her face as she looked at Tatsumi. "I'm beaten anyways, so you can take over, Bulat. Tatsumi, whatever you wanted to tell me, let's talk about it later on." she told the brunette, who only nodded dumbly, as if he was under a spell.

"Alright! Our first lesson begins now!" Bulat exclaimed, punching the air as he grabbed a spear. "Now come on, Tatsumi!"

"R-Right behind you…" Tatsumi said, walking after Bulat while Akame was staring at his back.

"Stay safe, Tatsumi…" Akame whispered, heading back towards the hideout to settle unfinished business with Leone. She had to talk with her friend about _certain_ things regarding a brunette whom they both had feelings for.

* * *

 **(4 Hours Later; North of Night Raid's Hidden Base)**

"Damn…" Tatsumi muttered to himself, looking over at the vast mountain range that was before him. "This sets a new record for my longest road trip away from base… and not to mention, it's getting foggy out here… sooner or later, I'm gonna lose my sight."

"This whole area is a fake mountain." Bulat explained, as he turned to look at his comrade by his side. "This place is one of the most dangerous areas in the capital region, and it's crawling with danger beasts at almost every corner."

"You think?" Tatsumi sarcastically answered before a weird noise struck his ears. Following his instincts, Tatsumi immediately moved to the side. A moment later, a massive tree branch swung towards the spot where he was just standing moments earlier. Tatsumi's eyes slightly widened when he saw a swarm of tree-like danger beasts making their way towards him and Bulat. Tatsumi quickly reacted by pulling out his pistol, shooting the danger beast directly in its large red eye. The monster howled in pain before it rolled over the ground of the narrow pathway that they were on, falling down the mountain to its death.

"Aw, for real?! How many of these things are there? They're not what we came here for, right?" asked Tatsumi as he quickly reloaded his firearm.

"Ha, I never should have doubted your reaction time and reflexes, Tatsumi! I thought that you only specialize in fighting." Bulat grinned as he readied his spear. "These things are tree beasts, and they usually come out and attack in packs like this one. Never let your guard down, otherwise they'll eat you alive, got it?" Bulat grinned as he pierced cleanly through another tree beast. "This mountain is filled with danger beasts that specialize in mirroring their targets. You'll be able to develop your sense of battle even further here."

"Heh… looks like I'll have to stop wasting my bullets then." Tatsumi said, seeing dozens of other danger beasts entering the area where they were. Some were shaped like rocks, while others looked like various plants. Tatsumi unsheathed _**Starfall**_ and took out the group of monsters nearest to him with one slice as he flew past them. Tatsumi turned to face Bulat afterwards, smirking. "We better get to work before they get out of hand then, right?"

"Yeah, their numbers are starting to annoy me." Bulat, killing two danger beasts with a single thrust of his spear. "Let's share any edible meat we find with the nearby village a few kilometers away from here. This hunt will help them out a lot, so do your best Tatsumi!"

"Already on it!" Tatsumi smirked, tightly gripping the handle of his sword as he rushed forward to attack. "Time to fly!"

 **(That Night; Night Raid's Hidden Base)**

"Good, you're all here then." Najenda said, taking her usual seat in Night Raid's meeting room. "I have some bad news for you all, so brace yourselves." she leaned forward and raised her index finger. "One, we've lost contact with our regional team."

"Regional team?" Seryu repeated with a confused look on her face, holding Koro in her arms.

"The empire is quite vast." Akame explained, turning to look towards the orange-haired girl. "Our group focuses its efforts on the capital, but there are actually other assassin teams that work throughout the whole region."

"We're investigating it now, but it's most likely that they were all wiped out without a trace left." Najenda said, causing a solemn look to form on everyone's face. "Prepare yourselves for that possibility, because these massacres are happening faster than we can handle."

"We should strengthen our base's defenses, if that's the case. We never know when we might be next." Lubbock suggested, earning a quick nod from the silver-haired woman. "Okay, I'll expand the area of my threads later on." Lubbock then turned towards Tatsumi with a wide grin. "You can help me too, put those skills I taught you to use."

"Sure, you're on." Tatsumi shrugged as he pushed his hands into his pockets. "Let's put everything I learned to the test then."

"Now that our enhanced defenses are dealt with, let's continue with our previous discussion." Najenda continued, her eyes hardening as she raised her middle finger. "Esdeath has finished demolishing the resistance in the North… she is returning to the capital." she announced, causing a wave of silence to wash over the room.

 _"Esdeath…"_ Tatsumi thought, as he rubbed his chin. _"Why does that name ring a bell? Did I meet her somewhere before? Damn it, that name! I've heard it before! Who is she again?"_ A sudden memory then struck his mind which caused his eyes to jolt wide open. " _Wait a minute… oh no… what the heck does this mean? It's been so many years…"_

"The general is back? I didn't expect for it to be too soon!" Seryu exclaimed, her face showing clear shock that caught Tatsumi's attention. "I thought it would be at least a month before she comes back from the raid…"

"That was much quicker than we anticipated." Akame said, releasing a light sigh as she closed her eyes. "That woman sure is troublesome."

"What do you mean?" Tatsumi asked, hoping to get more information about this 'Esdeath' person.

"Yeah, she's always been a thorn in our side ever since." Lubbock said, as he scratched the side of his head in irritation. "Every move we make, she somehow finds a way to stop it and hinder us. She ain't called the 'Empire's Strongest' for nothing…"

"Unfortunately, it appears that most of Esdeath's men have volunteered to stay up North to keep order." the Boss said, resting her head on her fist.

"Then that means she won't be making her move to crush the rebel army any time soon." Bulat said shrugging his shoulders.

"I have no clue what she's planning to do next, but I have a bad feeling that we're somehow involved." Najenda said, pulling out a cigarette before placing it in her mouth. "Normally, she spends her time in torture chambers instructing the guards stationed there on her methods, but I think there's more to that." Pulling out her lighter, the Boss turned towards Leone. "You have a special job, Leone. Go to the capital and find out what Esdeath is planning the moment she returns."

"Got it!" Leone cheered, punching the air with her fist. "I've always been curious to see what kind of person she is! This is the perfect opportunity for me!"

"She's an extremely dangerous enemy, who is also guilty of mass murder on an epic scale, Leone." Najenda warned, sending the blonde girl an authoritative look. "So, please be careful. For your own sake."

"I got it, I got it." Leone replied as she shook her head. _"Hmph, then that means… she's someone I can take out if I have the chance. The cruel, sadistic general that people call the 'Empire's strongest.' She deserves to die a brutal death just like the —!"_ Leone was cut off from her thoughts when she felt someone pat her on the shoulder. She turned her head to see Tatsumi smiling at her.

"Don't be too reckless, Leone…" Tatsumi said, squeezing her shoulder gently. "I don't know much about this Esdeath woman, but even I can tell that she's not someone to be messed with. If you sense any danger, don't hesitate to retreat. Otherwise, I'll be forced to fly over to the capital and save your poor neck."

Nearly everyone in the room laughed apart from Najenda, who only allowed a small smile on her face to appear. "Tch, I'm a capable assassin so I don't need any protection from you… so don't think about flying all the way for no reason… but thanks for worrying about me." Leone said as she grinned widely.

"Don't worry Tatsumi, I'll be cautious and I'll retreat as soon as I sense anything wrong. I'm not gonna die anytime soon, so expect me to be here laughing the moment my mission is over."

"I'll trust you on that one." Tatsumi said, smirking at his blonde lover.

"Okay, now that's over with, let's move on to the last part of this discussion." the Boss continued, raising her ring finger. "Like I said earlier, there has been a string of murders targeting civil servants all around the capital and so far, three civil servants have been killed." Najenda reached into her shirt and pulled out a piece of paper with Night Raid's insignia on it. "The main problem with them is that these fliers with 'Night Raid' written on them have been scattered all around the crime scenes."

"They're obviously imposters, and it's quite a smart tactic." Bulat said, crossing his arms over his chest as he smirked. "They must be trying to make it look like we're to blame for those murders."

"But, people aren't stupid enough to fall for this, are they?" Seryu asked, as she glanced at the paper in Najenda's hand before she realized the slight flaw in her words. "I mean, I admit that I was like that back then, but I saw through the lies that night when I met Tatsumi."

Sayo nodded. "I agree. Only a fool would fall for those lies… have they even noticed who are the people that we target primarily? It's not like us to target people without reason."

"It was like that at first." Najenda replied with a heavy sigh. "But now, more and more people are starting to believe the rumors. With each incident, all of the strongest guards were all killed. The latest victim was one of the former royal advisors, and in the process, about 50 guards have been killed trying to protect him. People believe that we're the only ones who could possibly do this much damage and get away with it."

"So our opponents equal us in strength and skill… which means that they must also possess teigus." Akame concluded as she rubbed her chin, lost in thought. _"Could one of them possibly be Kurome?"_ she thought to herself before she felt somebody squeeze her arm. She then looked up to see Tatsumi, who sent her a wink before smiling. The girl blushed a bit before she turned her head to the opposite side, feeling a large wave of relief wash over her while also being slightly embarrassed.

"All of these victims were innocent men and women who simply didn't like the way the minister was running the whole empire. In turn, it made them all targets that the minister would dispose off." she explained, breathing out a whiff of smoke. "In other words, the minister had them all killed behind all the people's backs."

"So they're trying to lure us in a trap just to fight them… which would divide the members and make them easier to kill… not a bad strategy." Bulat stated.

"None of those victims had any affiliation or connections with the rebel army. They were all men and women who were simply concerned for their country." Najenda said, tightly balling her fists. "All of them were the sort of civil servants that we could count on in our new nation. They are good people, and we can't afford to lose any of them anymore. But before we make any action against this, let me hear your thoughts on this matter. Tatsumi!"

"Uh… um, well… I… I don't know anything about politics but…" Tatsumi said in a nervous tone before it immediately took a serious note as he clenched his fist, a look of burning determination in his eyes. "Just the fact that they're using Night Raid's name for their actions… I'm going to enjoy killing the ones behind this!"

"Hell yeah!" Bulat cheered on with a thumbs-up before grinning. "You said it, Tatsumi!" Following Tatsumi and Bulat's exclamations, the rest of Night Raid joined together in a cheer.

"I think that's enough to tell that all of you have the same answers…" Najenda said, standing up from her seat before stomping on the floor. "We'll show these bastards what happens when you use an assassin's name against their wishes!" Putting her jacket on, the silver-haired woman turned to face the other members. "There are five civil servants who will likely be the next targets. But out of those five, based on who is leaving the palace tomorrow, the choices have been narrowed down to two. The first team will be Akame, Tatsumi, and Seryu."

"You think I'm ready for a mission, Boss? Aren't you still… you know, doubtful of me and my allegiance?" Seryu asked dumbfoundedly as she nervously rubbed her arm, caught off guard with Najenda's sudden announcement.

"Yes, you're ready to be assigned. And there is no point in doubting you as of this point. If Tatsumi is willing to place his trust in you, then we shall do the same." Najenda said, smiling softly at Seryu.

"Aye, sir! I won't let you down!" Seryu exclaimed, as she saluted to Najenda, hugging Koro tightly against her chest.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the room grew cold and Leone, Mine, Bulat, Lubbock, and even Akame were shocked at Seryu's sudden words. Tatsumi and Sayo looked at each other with a confused expression before their attention was caught by Najenda herself.

Seryu was simply smiling as if nothing was happening around her, but in reality, Najenda was letting out an incredible amount of killing intent and a murderous aura started appearing around her. The other Night Raid members looked at Seryu as if to say 'You just dug your own grave' while Tatsumi and Sayo watched from the sidelines, sweat-dropping at the scene in front of them.

Luckily though, Najenda managed to suppress her anger and took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. Seryu was still a new member, and she needed time to adjust to _certain_ things around here, especially when it comes to the Boss's _image_.

The silver-haired woman sighed. "Alright now, the second team will be Bulat, Sayo, and Sheele. Both teams will guard their respective target. Make sure to keep out of sight in order to avoid being seen, but if the situation calls for it, you're free to reveal yourselves and do whatever it takes to protect the two targets." Najenda said, taking one last puff of her cigarette before dropping it on the floor with a stomp.

"Where's our civil servant located, Boss?" Sayo asked, raising an eyebrow.

Najenda crossed her arms and breathed deeply. "A giant luxury passenger ship docked at the Grand Canal. The Dragon Ship."

* * *

 **(Night Raid's Hidden Base; Tatsumi's Room)**

Tatsumi was sitting at a chair next to his bed, trying his best to remember everything he knew about the name 'Esdeath'. As far as he could tell, he encountered the woman in his past, but he couldn't remember when and how did they exactly meet. However, that didn't mean that he would give up on it.

" _Esdeath… she's a general now, huh? If my instincts are right, it's only been 8 years… how did she manage to achieve that rank in so little time? She must be the youngest general out there… but for some reason, I'm not as surprised as to what I thought…"_ he thought to himself. " _Is it because… I don't remember her at all? Damn, this is pointless… forcing myself to think about it more won't be good… I guess I'll just stick to what I know for now. I first met her when I —"_ he was then cut off from his thoughts when the door to his bedroom suddenly opened.

Alarmed, Tatsumi reached for his knife that was resting on the nearby drawer and prepared to jump off the chair to defend himself from whoever barged into his room, until he saw that it was only Akame who walked inside.

"Good to see you that your senses are still as sharp as ever, Tatsumi." the girl said, smiling at the brunette. Akame was wearing a black bathrobe, and the bow that was holding it together was loosely tied, but Tatsumi was oblivious to this of course.

"A-Akame, what are you —" he tried to speak, but the red-eyed girl raised a finger to keep his mouth shut, and he figured that it would be a good move to just listen to her, since she was probably still angry about him and Leone doing… _couple's activities_.

"You still needed to tell me something Tatsumi, remember?" she reminded him, taking a seat on a chair which was opposite to the one where he was sitting on. "Now is a good time to say it, Tatsumi. We have a big mission tomorrow, if you want me to remind you."

" _How do I do this? How do I explain things?!"_ he ranted to himself, suddenly having a mental block in the midst of thinking, making him sport a nervous look. " _Come on! Just tell her what Leone told you man! Damn it, what do I say? Akame, Leone wants to join our relationship? Akame, I want to be with the two of you?"_ He tried to force himself to speak, but it fell short when he looked at her beautiful face. " _Argh, why can't I make a move?! This is not like you, Tatsumi!"_

"Tatsumi, what's wrong?" Akame asked, noticing that her boyfriend was acting a bit strange, shaking his head over and over as if he was trying to get rid of something in his mind. "Is something bothering you?"

The young man looked at her and it seemed like he was finally going to speak, but again no words came out of his mouth and looked to the side instead, back to thinking on how he could explain things properly to Akame. " _Is she willing to even give it a chance? Can she even hear me out?"_

"Tatsumi, if you feel nervous about telling me, don't be. Just do what I do whenever I'm faced with a dilemma like this. I go straight to the point and strike directly at the heart, kind of like when I'm fighting." she told him, causing him to look at her in surprise.

" _Yeah, that's right… I'll just act like Akame and go for it!"_ he thought triumphantly for a few moments before his doubts took over again. " _Wait, what can I say to convince her to be in an open relationship? There's a high chance that she'll reject me and wants me to herself… No! No, I can't think like that! I have to kill the doubt and strike into the heart of the matter!"_ He looked at Akame again, and clenched his fists at his side. " _If I can't do it with words, I'll do it head-on… just like how Akame does it."_ he finished with determination lingering in his mind.

"I'm sorry Akame, but I can't take it anymore." Tatsumi said, his bangs shadowing his eyes as he prepared for the worst to happen later on.

Akame raised an eyebrow slightly but spoke back in response. "Tatsumi, what are you — MMPHFF!" she got cut off from her words when Tatsumi suddenly stood up from his seat and rushed towards her, capturing her lips as he leaned down to reach her pure face. Akame was slightly shocked for a few seconds before she closed her eyes and kissed back, slowly turning their contact into a passionate exchange of love and passion as the girl grabbed onto his cheeks and pulled him closer towards her face that their heads were touching, further deepening their lip-play.

Tatsumi was slightly surprised that Akame pulled him closer towards her, but he had no time to think about that. If he was going to prove that he still wanted to be with her, he'd have to show it through his actions. His arm slowly made its way around her and rested on her back; the two were perfectly fine with their initial position until Akame surprisingly shoved her tongue into his mouth, furiously sucking him off like the predator that she was.

Although he was really confused with how aggressive Akame was acting right now, he didn't have time to pay attention to that. If Akame liked what was happening, he was prepared to give it all to her. Following her actions, he pushed his tongue inside of her mouth as well which further intensified their lip contact. When Tatsumi felt his back starting to ache because of how much he was bent forward, his other hand went down to her hip and gripped it firmly.

With one strong pull, Tatsumi lifted up Akame from her chair and carried her by her legs. The girl yelped in surprise for a moment before she wrapped both her arms around his neck and hung on for the ride of her life. She also used this to her advantage by pulling him even closer towards her, and her tongue could even feel the back of his throat as they made out passionately.

Slowly, Akame was dominating over their kiss and Tatsumi felt like he could fall over at any second as he was walking backwards, trying to support his lover's weight. Luckily though, the back of his knees reached the chair where he was sitting on earlier; Tatsumi slumped down and took this time to fight back with his tongue, making Akame moan into his mouth.

A few more minutes passed, and Akame finally separated herself from Tatsumi, leaving both assassins panting slightly and a small trail of saliva connecting both their mouths. This kiss was way different than the ones that they shared before this; while swarming with passion and love, the desire and longing could also be sensed in their actions, as if they have been separated for so long. They looked into each other's eyes while Akame held his cheek in her hand, and this was the time when Tatsumi decided to finally come full circle with the truth.

He took a deep breath. "Akame, I want you to know that I —" he was silenced when the girl pressed her finger against his mouth, silencing him.

"I know what you are going to tell me," she revealed, causing his eyes to widen slightly. "I have already discussed this matter with Leone earlier… and I am fine with it."

He couldn't hide his shock. "W-What? F-For real?" he asked again to confirm it, and she nodded in response. "You're not… you're not angry with me that I slept with Leone before you? And I did it without your knowledge?" he had a feeling that he shouldn't be asking these kinds of questions, but he had to make sure of things.

"Yes, I was indeed angry and upset with what you did, Tatsumi." she explained in a serious tone that sent shivers down his spine. "But none of it matters now anymore. I will let Leone be with you and possibly other girls to join our relationship, but…" she trailed off after her words, blushing all of a sudden.

"But what?"

Akame looked at him with a pleading expression. "Promise me that you'll never leave me, Tatsumi. I can't bear to lose someone I love ever again… when I learned that Leone was in love with you as well, I feared the worst. I was afraid that you'd leave me, so I thought I'd see for myself if that was true… but it turned out that you haven't forgotten me at all. I've lost many comrades during my lifetime and I don't want it to happen again."

She suddenly became startled when Tatsumi wrapped his arms around her protectively and hugged her tight. "I'll never leave." he told her, burying his face into the crook of her neck. "And I won't forget you… I'll die before that even happens. You were the first woman I fell in love with… and I love being with you. I know it's been only a month since we first met, but this feels right, in my own words. We're assassins anyway, and we only live once, so I'm gonna make the most of my remaining time in the world something worth living for." He paused for a moment to look at her. "And that something is you. I won't let you lose someone important to your life ever again, not even me. We'll go through this war together, and come out on top together."

"Tatsumi…" she breathed out in happiness before the young man closed the distance between them again, giving her a quick peck on the lips before he brushed her hair back and stared at her for a few seconds before Akame spoke once again. "I want to do the same thing Leone did with you, Tatsumi. Let me show you how much you mean to me." she said in a blank tone, causing him to send her a questioning look.

"Uh, this isn't about being jealous and proving that you're way better than Leone, right?" he asked with a nervous grin. Tatsumi may be a bit dense, but he was not a complete idiot. The moment he noticed the way how she was taking their kisses seriously obviously meant that she had something on her mind, and it didn't surprise Tatsumi that it would be sex.

Her hands went to the loose knot that kept her bathrobe closed, playing with it as she explained even further. "At first, it was indeed like that. I wanted to show Leone that she is not the only one who can give you pleasure, but it's different now. Tomorrow is another mission for us Tatsumi, which means our lives will be put to the risk once again. It's part of being an assassin, but I don't want to die without being able to experience… this. I don't to say goodbye without even getting a chance to know what it's like to love a person deeply. I realized that when Leone went directly to you instead of discussing her intentions with me first… she told me that she wanted to be with you before you went on your mission yesterday."

"Oh, I… I see… but… are you sure about this, Akame?" he asked, wanting one last sign of confirmation from the girl. He had no problem with giving her what she desired, but he was certainly not going to go through with it if she was not ready. "We don't have to do this right now, and I'm willing to wait for the right moment."

Akame only smiled and removed herself from his lap, standing in front of him; because of the open window, her figure was basked in the moonlight and Tatsumi could see just how beautiful Akame was. The red-eyed woman undid the knot holding her bathrobe and let it slid past her shoulders, falling to the ground.

Tatsumi was awestruck with what was in front of him.

Although she wanted to go through with this for the night, it didn't stop Akame from blushing like an embarrassed teen because of Tatsumi's shocked expression. She was wearing a pair of black lacy underwear which suited her curves and body greatly, and it made it look like the assassin inside her was dead.

Earlier during their little talk, Leone suggested that she could help her in how to seduce Tatsumi and make him properly give in to his deepest desires, which greatly embarrassed Akame but also made her determined to prove her love for the young man.

She fidgeted before looking to the side. "Well? Are you just… g-going to sit there and d-do nothing?" she said, putting on a serious face despite her massive blush. It was seriously not like her to blush and stutter, as that is more like something that Mine will do. Akame looked at Tatsumi and the look on her face says that she wanted him to make a move badly. "I will drag you off that chair if I have to, Tatsumi… this is embarrassing, if you want me to say it."

After staring blankly at the girl for a few more seconds, Tatsumi finally sighed and stood up from his seat. He walked over towards her and held Akame by her shoulders as he stared into her eyes.

 _ **[*Super Sexy Lemon Alert!*]**_

"I am so glad to have met someone as serious as you," he said before he pulled her in for another deep kiss. Without even wasting any time, Akame wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer towards her, attempting to recreate the pleasurable feeling of his whole mouth on hers earlier. In the process, her bra-clad breasts got pressed against his chest, but she didn't feel any skin upon contact.

Like a predator hunting for prey, Akame aggressively lowered her arms down to the hem of his shirt and quickly pulled it upwards, causing them to break off from their kiss for a few moments so that the girl could take the fabric off him, before their lips crashed into each other once again. Akame didn't even took the time to look at his shirtless body or do anything that a normal girl would do at this moment. This time, there were no signs of holding back or hesitation in Akame's mind and soul.

It was all about hunger and desire.

Tatsumi didn't let up either; he kissed the girl back fiercely as his hand travelled to the back of her head which allowed him to gain control of her movement. He cradled her back and forth, letting their tongues dance together in unison as they used every last bit of their breath to make their lip-play something worth remembering for a lifetime. His other hand then went to Akame's soft back and began massaging it slowly, causing the girl to softly moan in his mouth. Taking it as a way of advice of knowing what she has to do next, Akame's hands went towards his back and began clawing his skin, showing how she had surrendered to her desires and let her inner animal loose.

The brunette groaned slightly at the feeling of Akame's fingernails digging into his skin before he quickly thought of something to get back at her. A few moments later, Tatsumi found his hands on Akame's upper back, touching the hook that held her bra together. He began to play with it for a few seconds as if he was asking for permission, before the girl broke off their lengthy kiss for a moment and leaned her forehead against his.

"Do it." she breathed out with a bit of seriousness in her tone.

Tatsumi needed nothing more; with a snap, he unhooked Akame's bra and slowly slid it off her shoulders before he moved away for a bit, staring at Akame's breathtaking appearance as the black undergarment covering her chest fell to the floor, joining her bathrobe.

He then found himself openly staring at her freed globes, taking in every inch of her beauty and nailing them to his soul. The red-eyed assassin was not as big as Leone, but that didn't mean that she had nothing on her side. Her breasts definitely suited her near-perfect figure, and Tatsumi could even justify it. Being the victim of his stare, Akame couldn't help but feel embarrassed yet she didn't do anything to cover herself up or even turn away. She knew just what she was getting into and she _wanted_ this, so there was no point in going back at this point.

Focusing himself back to his task at hand, he went back to the girl and stared at her now-puffy lips. He chuckled slightly at the results of their passionate and hungry kisses before he felt Akame pull him in for another liplock, showing that she was not yet finished with him. Because her bra was now out of the way, Akame almost jumped at the feeling of her breasts touching Tatsumi's skin, slowly making her aroused by the second.

Following Akame's pace, Tatsumi broke off their kiss sooner than she could guess but before she could even complain, he dove deeper and started to assault the side of her neck, causing her to moan a bit louder than before while turning her head to the side, allowing the brunette to explore different areas around her neck. Tatsumi did more than just kissing though, as he began to lick and suck on her skin gently, careful enough not to create hickeys that could make others suspicious. Soon enough, he switched to the other side and Akame could now hardly control every cute moan she was letting out.

Feeling left out, Akame's hands managed to regain their strength and went downwards to his boxers _**(for the sake of the story, imagine that he sleeps in his boxers)**_. With one strong pull, she managed to pull it down until it reached her thighs, which allowed her foot to reach up and pull it down the rest of the way, leaving it on the edge of his feet. Although he was a bit surprised, Tatsumi stripped himself of his boxers and kicked it away, leaving him in just his underwear before focusing his new assault on Akame's collarbone. This caused her panties to become even wetter by the second, indicating a clear sign of her arousal that sent a chill down her spine.

"T-Tatsumi…" she purred out cutely, a small blush appearing on her face as she did so. "The bed… p-please…" she looked at the young man's bed, indirectly asking him to take their actions there.

"Anything for you, Akame…" he muttered with a smile before he grabbed her by the butt and lifted her up before carrying the girl towards the bed. As he laid her down softly, he found himself staring once again at the raven-haired beauty below him; her hair like a mess around her, but it only highlighted her most adoring features. Her red eyes glistened under the moonlight and her constant breathing only made Akame harder to resist for Tatsumi, because his _tent_ inside his underwear was nearly out of its cage.

He shook his head and proceeded to work his way through this. He had learned from his encounters with Leone that it was considered a sin to keep a girl waiting in bed, not to mention Akame was an extremely possessive girl over him. "Just let me take care of things, Akame… I'll make you feel good." he said, looking into her eyes.

"T-Tatsumi… please…" she muttered, wanting to experience the same pleasure she felt when he was ravaging her neck earlier like an animal being hungry for its food. Her eyes slightly widened when Tatsumi snaked his left arm around her back and lifted her slightly up from the bed, before letting out a gasp when he started kissing his way down towards her chest.

Using his experience during those times when he was having sex with Leone, Tatsumi already knew what he needed to do in times like this. He took a deep breath and took her left breast in his mouth and sucked on it wholeheartedly while running her right nipple in between his finger and thumb. This was the one that he struck with his sword when they first met, and as if he was telling a story, he was there to heal the wounds underneath.

Akame felt like she was going out of her mind with ecstasy; her hands went to his brown locks and clutched a handful in her grasp, justifying just how much she was enjoying this. Akame had never felt this kind of feeling before, but she liked it. Wait, scratch that.

 _She was loving it._

"Tatsumi… ohh, keep going…" she mumbled, biting her fist to try and hold in the unmistakable feeling inside her nether regions. Her toes curled as her voice filled the air with her cries of lust and satisfaction, feeling overwhelmed with the intense but pleasurable sensation that she was feeling. Her right hand moved from her mouth towards the sheets, gripping it tightly while the other one travelled further and started clawing his back like a wild cat. The pleasure she was feeling was becoming unbearable, and it could be pointed out that she won't last long.

Tatsumi moved his ministrations from her breast towards her nipple, sucking on it like a child while his free hand started fondling her other mound as a whole, relishing her soft skin in his grasp. This continued for a whole minute until Tatsumi ended his oral adventure with an audible pop, before turning his attention to her other breast and this caused Akame to look at him, her mind clouded with lust.

"Your tits are smaller than Leone's, but yours are way softer than her…" he said while smirking, laughing to himself upon seeing her embarrassed reaction before he continued pleasuring her chest. This time, his right hand started running all over her whole body instead of just staying in one place, letting the rivers of sweet ecstasy and bliss pour into the girl's being.

"Tatsumi…" she purred out, breathing heavily. Akame's eyes rolled to the back of her head when she felt a funny feeling in her nether regions; this feeling was completely new to her and she didn't know what it was, but she knew to herself that she didn't want Tatsumi to stop.

She felt the sensation slowly building up inside her and tried to fight it off because according to Leone, if it happened, then it's likely that she would no longer be able to continue to the 'main event'. Akame would not have the need to do that however, when Tatsumi finally let go of her nipple and smiled lovingly at her.

That was when she felt the pleasurable sensation in her lower regions stop all of a sudden, and it caused her to become confused. Was she supposed to be angry with him not going for the kill, or was she supposed to be thankful that she managed to last long against him? Before she could even make out what should she tell him, Tatsumi already spoke ahead of her.

"Just stay like that, Akame… I'll take care of you." he said, moving slowly away from her and it made the girl afraid that he was going to leave her, causing her to try and sit up from her position on the bed.

"Tatsumi, w-what are y — OOHHH!" she suddenly exclaimed out of surprise, crashing back on the bed flat on her back, feeling something more overwhelming brought her body to a close, and she felt like being compared to jelly. If she was in battle right now, she would have no chance of winning.

"You look so cute when you're like that, Akame…" he teased before positioning his head between his lover's legs and placed his hands on either side of her hips, grabbing the hem of her black panties which were soaking wet with her juices. "I'm going to take it off, Akame." he simply said and almost immediately, the red-eyed girl lifted her butt off the bed for a bit to let him slide the undergarment off her. Tatsumi braced himself for what was going to happen before pulling Akame's panties off all the way.

Akame blushed furiously when she lifted her head up for a few moments when she found Tatsumi openly staring at her shaven pussy; in fact, she felt so embarrassed that she joined her legs together out of nervousness. "D-Don't stare too much!" she said, trying to act serious.

Tatsumi only laughed slightly and grinned afterwards. "Akame, there's nothing to be nervous about okay? It's just the two of us here, and nobody is there to see you but me. I assure you, I'll make you forget about your worries and focus your mind on only the two of us." he said reassuringly, and he waited until Akame finally nodded, spreading her legs slowly as she looked to the side to avoid his gaze.

Once again, Tatsumi positioned himself between her legs and drew his tongue to give her warm entrance a long and slow lick upwards, and he could even hear her juices lapping like water with his movement. Akame's back arched off the bed, letting out a loud moan that took the most of her voice; it caught her off guard, but she felt good nonetheless. Now, she was beginning to realize what Tatsumi meant by his words earlier. She reached out to grab his hair and give it a slight pull, showing that she wanted no, _needed_ more of him.

Tatsumi smirked for a few seconds before focusing his attention towards the girl's clit, latching his mouth on it like a metal drawn to a magnet. He began to kiss and lick her clit all over and he could feel Akame's body thrashing around a bit as her reaction. The young man held her hips firmly to keep her in place as he resumed his work, now beginning to suck on her wet clitoris.

"T-Tatsumi! Ahh Hah! Please… i-inside as well!" she moaned out, managing to speak a few more words despite her lack of energy to do so. Tatsumi stopped in his movements before he went back to his earlier target, wanting to give Akame what she wanted to happen.

Like what he did earlier, he started it off with one slow lick up and down her entrance before he slid his tongue inside her with ease. Akame moaned at her loudest when she finally felt his hot tongue penetrate her insides, and she almost came then and there. In turn, her throbbing pussy had completely intoxicated Tatsumi, the smell alone enough to drive him wild and it caused him to pull his tongue out slightly before inserting it back in over and over in complete rhythm.

This served as a pattern for the brunette and he continued on thrusting his tongue over and over inside Akame's womanhood. The girl felt that she wanted more of him, causing her to pull his head even closer to her entrance, which only made him reach farther inside of Akame, and he could literally smell the scent of her juices on her clit. With every thrust that his tongue made, Tatsumi felt his girlfriend's inner walls clench around him, making it harder for him to move inside of her. However, he wasn't going to back out that easily and made his thrusts more aggressively than before, moving faster and faster inside Akame's pussy to loosen up her insides.

"Tatsumi! This feels… so good! I… I feel kind of… s-strange down… t-there…" she was unable to finish her sentence due to the pleasure that she felt, which completely overtook her strength and left her vulnerable, the strong and stoic assassin was gone.

"Let it go, Akame… it'll get even better after this, trust me." he said, withdrawing his tongue temporarily to speak, before inserting it back in quickly to save her approaching climax.

"AAAAGGGGHHHH!" Akame screamed out in ecstasy as her body thrashed around for a few moments, the first climax she ever felt in her life being milked out of her. The girl arched her back off the bed momentarily, before dropping back with a bounce all because of how mind-blowing that sensation was. Reaching her orgasm made Akame hungry for more.

 _The predator was still hungry for more._

Tatsumi did his best to suck in everything that she had released, and it could be argued that he 'drank' her because he wasn't willing to let a single drop miss his mouth, which only increased the overwhelming sensation that Akame was feeling, like a stimulant. The red-eyed beauty felt incredible and she felt like this could be something that she'll be fond of doing.

But then Akame felt that this climax wasn't enough to satisfy her. She was still hungry for more, and she needed it NOW. Her resolve had never been stronger before. At this point, Akame had lost herself to her lust and sinful desires, with the cute and stuttering girl from earlier saying goodbye.

Akame reached down to grab Tatsumi by his face and looked him dead into his passionate green eyes and even deeper into his soul. It felt like the young man was staring into the eyes of a Shinigami, but it didn't stop him from being dazed because of how sexy she looked like this. "Tatsumi…" she said in a stoic tone before it completely changed into a commanding one as her face showed determination and fire in her eyes.

"FUCK ME NOW!"

Tatsumi was momentarily taken aback with her words as he had never heard Akame curse nor shout, nor once, with such passion and fire underneath but it also gave him the knowledge this was the result of his actions to give her pleasure and satisfaction.

" _Did Leone teach her these words or something? Ah, who cares? I'll deal with her later, I got somebody that I need to attend to! It's only fair that I pay attention to Akame as well."_ he thought before he flashed his signature grin and smirked afterwards. "Sure thing, you hungry _beast_." he teased, which actually got her to blush in the midst of her seriousness.

"Tatsumi, please…" she said with a hint of desperation in her tone. "No more waiting around… I need you inside me now!" With her superior speed, Akame managed to gather enough strength to sit up and pull Tatsumi's boxers off completely, and her eyes then widened at seeing his rock hard cock was finally free from its prison. Akame couldn't stop herself from licking her dry lips, waiting for that big juicy rod of _meat_ to slam inside her and take her completely.

"Akame, wait… this is your first time, isn't it? We should be taking this slow because I don't want to hurt you." he told her, but the raven-haired beauty was not going to let this pass by.

She needed his _meat_ and she wanted it _now_.

Akame reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck before pulling him down for a kiss, both basking in the reunion of their tongues, having a little exchange of saliva for a brief moment before the girl pulled away, afraid that she could forget about her original goal at the moment.

"Do it, Tatsumi." she breathed out without even a single hint of hesitation in her tone, like she was accepting events as they are. "Yes, this is my first time but I don't care. I need you, _now_." she said firmly, not even paying attention to his slight warning and moving on to what she wanted.

"B-But, Akame! Didn't you even here what I just said? I don't want to —" he was cut off when Akame pressed her finger against his lips, silencing him once again before she flashed him a cute look, and Tatsumi couldn't even last five seconds with it as he finally sighed in defeat. At this point, he was convinced that his lover wanted to go through this no matter what, and he had no way out of it.

Akame smiled at him due to the happiness she felt inside of her; just a few days ago, she was jealous of what had transpired between her boyfriend and her best friend, but now that she was in this position right now, she could care less about it. The girl then kissed his nose cutely before she laid back on the bed again, ready for what was about to happen next, which managed to get Tatsumi to smile once again, which was something that she would never get tired of seeing.

She spread her thighs wide open, letting Tatsumi settle into the space between them and prepared himself while her legs settled on either side of his body; Akame lifted her hips slightly off the bed as if he was inviting him to do it, which made him chuckle slightly before doing just what she wanted him to do. Akame watched with excitement and fascination as the tip of Tatsumi's erection nuzzled and brushed against her outer lips, and then slowly disappeared between them as he pushed forward.

He slid inside her warm entrance slowly like an arm slipping into a sleeve, until he came to a sudden barrier that prevented him from going further. He paused for a moment to give Akame a quick glance, who only nodded with a smile on her face, giving him the final confirmation that he needed.

Tatsumi pulled back a little, then slammed his cock back inside, tearing her hymen. Both assassins couldn't stop a moan that just escaped their lips at Akame's virginity being taken, and the girl then felt the unmistakable pain that women get when they lose their purity. She grunted slightly, her body adjusting to Tatsumi's 10-inch cock all by itself and she felt relief upon learning that losing her virginity wasn't as bloody or painful as Leone told her to be. Still, it didn't stop Akame from shutting her eyes to alleviate the slight pain she felt, which was slowly starting to become blissful ecstasy as time passed by.

Nonetheless, Tatsumi was concerned for his girlfriend as he remembered how him and Leone spent their time together, where even the tough-as-nails Lionel user almost shed a few tears of unbearable pain. If he learned anything during his experiences, a girl's first time in bed could be painful and can. "Well if you want to Akame, do you want me to pull out? I know that it hurts for a girl's first time, so if you want to, I'll stop for now."

Akame grabbed him behind his neck and pulled him closer to her. "Don't you dare! " she told him sharply, sending him a dangerous look before it immediately evaporated into the air, feeling she was being overwhelmed with pleasure once again. Grinning slightly, Tatsumi withdrew his cock and re-entered her womanhood, fully giving way for him to have access to her insides when he finally broke the barrier of skin.

Akame watched as Tatsumi's manhood was left inside of her and he pushed forward a bit more until she wrapped her legs around his hips, holding him in place and preventing him from moving.

"Tatsumi, wait… let me… cherish this moment…" she looked at him with a smile, and he didn't hesitate to return the same look she gave him before they closed their eyes together. A small stream of blood had slowly streamed out her entrance, but that didn't matter to her at all. With Tatsumi inside her, Akame felt so full that it felt like this particular feeling could never be replaced by something else.

In turn, Tatsumi's jaw dropped at how good it was being inside Akame. Thanks to his earlier actions, her womanhood was not that tight anymore and he fit it like a glove even though his erection had an incredible size. She was also very warm and comfortable inside, causing Tatsumi be overwhelmed with the pleasurable sensation that Akame was feeling way earlier.

She opened her eyes and kissed him deeply, and he immediately returned it to her, before she separated from him sooner than he thought. "You can move now, Tatsumi." she said, giving him the go-ahead sign to proceed.

Akame's voice rang in his head like an alarm clock, and he instantly complied, pushing his throbbing cock deeper inside of her until their hips met, before pulling out until it was halfway and proceeded to do the same thing over and over again. The moment he started to move, it felt like nothing that the girl could have ever imagined; Tatsumi was a bit slow and gentle at first, but he was beginning to slowly pick up the pace, which was something that she was hoping for since earlier.

The raven-haired assassin wrapped her legs around her Tatsumi's back and moaned loudly, bringing his face down to her chest with both her arms to make this even better for the both of them. His large throbbing cock was impaling Akame's snatch over and over, and she couldn't even think straight anymore as Tatsumi pounded her into bliss.

She raked her nails across his back, hard enough to leave a few marks all over his skin to let any other girl (especially Leone) that he also belonged to her. On the other hand, Tatsumi's hands found their way towards her breasts as he began to pinch and roll her erect nipples between his fingers, before he lowered his mouth and started to suck on the mound of flesh again, doing everything he can just to make Akame feel good.

Akame had lost complete strength in her arms by now that they were left outstretched on the bed, and she was slightly drooling as a result of her pussy being overwhelmed with Tatsumi's manhood. His bed creaked louder by the moment as he increased the power and his speed in every thrust made. Akame's moans combined with how good and pleasurable her pussy felt continued on sending Tatsumi closer and closer to the edge, nearing his impending climax.

"Tatsumi, harder! Ahh! Do it faster! Hah! Aah! Fuck me harder! Ohh!" she screamed in absolute ecstasy, and luck must be on their side if they didn't get heard fucking like wild animals for the past hour.

Hearing his love scream out his name unleashed a sudden rush of adrenaline within him as his right hand went behind her back and his left one towards Akame's butt, slightly lifting her so that he could plow into her pussy a lot better and faster than before. And he could feel his own cock grow about two inches larger while being buried deep inside her Akame.

The girl felt it as well and she wrapped her arms and legs tightly around him, allowing him to reach into the deepest part of her vagina, nearly touching her womb in the process. Akame closed her eyes and hugged him closer towards her as he pounded inside her harder and harder into oblivion. Tatsumi thrusted even harder inside her, managing to find her g-spot before noticing how she got tighter and hotter the deeper he went. Due to his enhanced stamina, he was able to hold in his orgasm but even still, he couldn't last forever because in fact, he felt his end coming and it was going to be massive.

"Akame…" he groaned out, gritting his as he held Akame's hips and pistoned in and out of her as fast as he could to achieve the orgasm he was looking for. "I'm gonna cum! I can't hold it in anymore!"

"M-Me too! I can feel it again!" she exclaimed, tightening her wrap around the young man with her legs. . "Don't pull out, let's do it together Tatsumi!"

Tatsumi groaned in pleasure and exertion as his veins were bulging and pulsating like snakes through his skin.,The only thing he knew that he should do right now was to thrust inside her over and over until they would achieve it. The two assassins were so close and sure enough that they finally reached their climax at the same time.

"TATSUMIIIIIIIII!"

"AKAMEEE!"

The red-eyed girl screamed out her boyfriend's name as she came explosively, her entire essence wracked with pleasure. Akame closed her eyes as she felt herself give in to the pleasure, her inner walls clamped down on Tatsumi's cock as her juices were drained out of her for a second time and coated the entire place in her own fluids, sending him to his own release as well. Tatsumi shouted out wildly as he inserted his cock as far as he could inside of her, before unleashing himself within her, a white load of his hot cum spurting out and filled up her pussy, their juices mixing with each other and Akame could feel some of his hot semen escaping her womanhood, but _she_ loved it. She loved every second of it.

 _ **[*Super Sexy Lemon End*]**_

As they slowly ended their orgasmic state after a long minute, they remained there gasping, suffering from exhaustion as they came together for a deep kiss before he collapsed on top of Akame's chest shortly, resting his cheek against her breasts as he panted. Finally, the girl felt satisfied and that she wasn't hungry anymore. Akame knew what she wanted during this, and she just achieved it, and she couldn't be more happier because her boyfriend and her have done _it_ and their bond was closer than ever with what just happened tonight.

Akame stroked his hair, trying to regain her breath from everything that just happened. As if she was still acting on her primal urges, Akame wrapped her arms and legs around him once again like a protective mother, not wanting to let go of him. Akame could feel exhaustion slowly taking over her, and it was likely that she could collapse at any second. She then heard Tatsumi chuckle for a bit before her eyes widened with what he did next.

Tatsumi rolled over and switched their positions, leaving him at the bottom with Akame straddling his hips above him. He wrapped his arms around her neck and legs around her waist, pressing her breasts and crotch to his naked body as if _he_ was the possessive one. Luckily though, Tatsumi managed to suppress his growing boner, instead looking at his girlfriend in the eye and kissed her one final time.

"I love you." he said with a smile, nuzzling her head into his chest comfortable as he slowly closed his eyes, too exhausted to even keep on going.

Akame felt her heart skip a beat for a moment and suddenly felt that she was going to collapse out of exhaustion and because of how overwhelmed she was earlier with all the pleasure and satisfaction that he gave her.

She smiled and rested her cheek against his chest. "I… love you too… Tatsumi…" she managed to say before finally falling into unconsciousness.

* * *

 **(Same time; North of the Capital)**

A tall woman with pale skin and distinctive light blue hair smiled as the Danger Beast she was riding on neared the capital. Esdeath grew excited at the thought of fighting new and stronger enemies, as well as those who deserve punishment.

 _Night Raid._

Hopefully, they prove themselves to be worthy foes.

"Capital, I'm home…" she mused to herself as the Empire's capital came to view.

* * *

 _ **Lubbock found out about Leone and Tatsumi! LOL, he better keep his mouth shut!**_

 _ **Akame accepts Leone's relationship with Tatsumi! Our hero can now pursue his harem without hesitations! YAY!**_

 _ **Ohh, what's this? Esdeath and Tatsumi have some history together? I NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS, PRONTO!**_

 _ **Our favorite red-eyed assassin finally gets the love she deserves in a hot and very long lemon, which I put in all my effort in making! Hope you guys enjoyed it!**_

 _ **Stay tuned for the next chapter, which is gonna be full of shit on the next update, which will happen probably after I update another one of my stories. Just be patient, guys!**_

 _ **Harem: Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Sheele, Seryuw, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	11. Kill the Return

"Normal Talking"

 _"Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters…**_

* * *

Tatsumi slowly opened one eye, feeling the familiar feeling in his gut that told him to wake up right now. He was like a walking rooster, even if he had nothing to do early in the morning, he would still wake up and find something to do. Be it training, cooking, cleaning, as long as he would be out of bed, it was fine. It was like his body had an alarm clock of its own.

Even if it was early in the morning, he didn't want to go to sleep again so he threw off the blanket that was covering him, ready to get up. However, he was then frozen in place just by the sight of Akame in his bed, completely naked and curled up in a fetal position as she slept peacefully.

Memories of what happened last night immediately began to flood his mind, and he smiled upon remembering what him and his beloved Akame did last night. " _Well, now there's nothing to worry about for the three of us now…"_ Tatsumi thought to himself as he stroked her cheek gently, taking in the red-eyed assassin's natural beauty before he covered her with the blanket and sat up to do a few stretches.

" _I have to get into some early morning training… our mission is due tomorrow, so I need to make the most of it and put in my best efforts in growing stronger. I thought it would happen today but surprisingly, it was changed at the last minute. Fortunately, this'll give me more time to continue on becoming stronger than before. I can't let myself get carried away just because I have two insanely strong women accompanying me on the mission. I need to be —"_

"Wow, it's early in the morning and you're already training? You've never done this while we were alone together, Tatsumi…" said a familiar voice, and the brunette turned his head to the side, realizing that it just came from beside him.

"Morning, Tatsumi! I see you enjoyed your night with Akame, huh?" Leone said, lying on her side as she looked at her brown-haired lover with a sultry smile. Tatsumi yelped in surprise upon seeing the busty blonde completely naked, and she had her hand on her hip in a sexy position.

"Leone, what are you doing here?" he hissed, careful enough so that he wouldn't wake Akame up. "And why the hell are you naked?" he asked with a blush covering his cheeks; it's not like he wasn't used to her being naked, but being in the presence of two unclothed girls made it awkward for him.

"Well, since we'll all be out on separate missions tomorrow, I figured I should spend some time with you before that happens!" she said, sitting up and started crawling towards Tatsumi with a feral grin. "And why am I like this, you ask? Isn't my body attractive enough for you? Is there something wrong with me?" she faked a hurt tone, before she started laughing uncontrollably after seeing the conflicted look on his face.

"Leone…" Tatsumi growled with a displeased look, wanting her to get straight to the point.

"Oh, lighten up!" she exclaimed, patting him on the back with a huge grin. "I just wanted to join in the fun because it'd be awkward if you two are bare naked and I'm not. Plus, it's way better if we cuddle this way…" she said as she took Tatsumi's arm and sandwiched it between her breasts.

"Now's not the time, Leone… we have a mission," said Tatsumi, pulling his arm back before getting off the bed and continue his stretching at the free space of his bedroom.

"You seem to be totally focused for your mission with Akame and Seryu… mind sharing what's on your mind with me?" asked Leone, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Nothing really…" Tatsumi shook his head as he started going through some pushups on the floor. Leone had to keep her legs together to prevent the sudden arousal she was starting to feel. "It's just that… when I heard the name 'Esdeath' last night, I had the sudden feeling that I needed to grow even stronger because… because I might regret it if I don't."

"What do you mean when you heard the name 'Esdeath'? Do you know her or something?" Leone pressed on, now genuinely interested in this discussion.

"Can you keep a secret between us? Don't tell Akame or the others about it, I'll tell you all about it when the time comes." he asked; Leone was the kind of girl to tease about people's secrets, but she can keep one nonetheless, which was enough for him to place his trust on her.

"Sure."

He stood up and started to perform sit-ups as he spoke again. "This general Esdeath… I don't remember how, but I think I've met her before."

Leone's eyes widened. "S-Seriously?" she asked in a dumbfounded way. "You've met Esdeath before? She's likely the strongest person in the Empire and it must be a handful to encounter her. Did you fight her or did you just observe her from afar? If you did pick a fight with that woman, how are you even alive right now?"

"I'm sorry, Leone. But that's all I'm gonna say about this matter for now…" he muttered sadly.

"What? Why? Don't you trust me? I won't judge your story, Tatsumi. You can tell me anything." she said, taken aback a bit because of the young man's denial.

"I know. But I'm not even sure if my memory serves me right. I may be wrong with how I'm remembering things, and I'd rather wait until I fully remember everything. When that time comes, I promise I'll tell everyone about my past with her. Okay, Leone?" he smiled slightly at the _**Lionelle**_ user.

She snickered before eventually shrugging her shoulders. "Sure, why not? I love surprises!" she exclaimed, grinning widely afterwards.

Tatsumi let out a sigh of contentment and stopped in his sit-ups, looking at the blonde girl straight in the eyes. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, ask me anything you want. I'll answer them." Leone said, closing her eyes before flashing a smirk.

"How did you end up in this line of work?" Tatsumi asked, using his shirt that he had discarded the night before on the nearby drawer to wipe the sweat off his face. "In Akame's case, she was sold to the empire and basically got trained to be a full-fledged assassin. Sheele killed her friend's ex-boyfriend and worked solo for some time. What about you?"

"Ehh, I got nothing much to say about that, to be honest." Leone said, shrugging her shoulders again. "I killed a guy that I didn't like, and then I was scouted by the revolutionary army. End of story."

"Wow, that's it?" Tatsumi laughed, before curiosity took over him again. "Then how did you acquire _**Lionelle**_?"

"There's not much to that story either…" she explained, rubbing the back of her head as she tried to remember the first time she saw her teigu. "I made a deal with some black market dealer and I got this belt at a cheap price. What's funny is that I didn't even realize it was a teigu for several weeks."

"That must be the beginning of your insane luck then." Tatsumi remarked which caused the both of them to laugh softly.

"Eh, who knows? Apparently if the person who's wearing _**Lionel**_ isn't compatible with it, they can't transform. That perverted dealer surely didn't realize that."

"So, how did that lead to you becoming an assassin?" Tatsumi calmly asked, before he noticed the smirk forming on the girl's face.

"The first victim of my bloodlust was an aristocratic bastard who made a game out of stomping kids from the slum with his horse." she began, leaning back against the bed as Tatsumi on a chair beside the edge. "I didn't like what he was doing, so I planned to kill him one night to end his schemes. But, I wouldn't be satisfied by simply killing that bastard, and I wanted to teach him and all his friends a lesson they would never forget. So instead of killing him immediately, I tied him up and brought him down to the stables. And there, I made his beloved horse stomp him repeatedly to death, the same one he that used to kill those kids. And after that, I tied his corpse to his horse and had the cute thing drag his body through the capital to send a message to the other rich assholes living there."

"Woah…" Tatsumi breathed out, a bit surprised at how brutal the blonde woman could possibly be. "If I was in your spot, I'd just wreck his face over and over before finally killing him. Is this how you deal with bastards in the Empire?"

"Yes… that's how I'll deal with everyone I'll come across with." Leone said, sensually licking her lips in satisfaction. "I love the feeling of torturing villains who are full of themselves… and I love seeing the look in their eyes right before I kill them… the look of absolute fear and regret." Leone suddenly jumped onto his lap and wrapped her arms around Tatsumi's neck, pulling his face closer and whispered into his ear.

"But the Prime Minister… he is my ultimate prey. He's so puffed-up and arrogant, that I get insane chills whenever I think of killing him. With Night Raid's help, I'll bring peace to everyone in the capital… I'll kill the Minister more ruthless and gruesome than anything he's ever imagined…"

 _"Damn, she reminds me of my old self… focus on the biggest target and deliver the worst upon him. I think nothing's going to stop her at this rate… I just hope she'd be careful, though. I can't bear the thought of losing Leone or any of the people I care about."_ Tatsumi thought as he stared at the busty blonde in slight awe.

"Well… I'm just a good-for-nothing scoundrel, so I won't go down easily if that's what you're worried about." Leone said, kissing Tatsumi on the lips before she got off him and headed towards the door, leaving him confused. "I'd love to stay with you a lot longer Tatsumi, but it looks like I've pissed somebody off long enough. I'll catch you later during breakfast, then!" she said before leaving the room.

" _What the heck is she talking about?"_ Tatsumi asked himself, continuing to wipe the sweat off his body before turning his attention back to Akame on the bed. " _I wonder if Akame is_ — _Oh shit."_ He was cut off from his thought upon seeing the red-eyed assassin already sitting up from the bed, looking at him with an expressionless face as she began to speak.

"What did you do with Leone?" she asked, her voice full of intent with a hint of jealousy underneath.

"Nothing. We just had a little talk Akame!" he said immediately, not wanting to get on her bad side before he noticed her crawling towards him, sending him a suspicious look. "What is it?"

"You're not lying to me, are you?"

"No, why would I lie! We didn't do anything, honest!" he tried pleading, raising his arms up and shaking his head. If he learned anything from the time him and Akame have spent together, it was the fact that she was way possessive of him, which is also how she acted when it comes to her younger sister.

"Hmm…" Akame muttered, eyeing Tatsumi up and down to try and see if he was indeed telling the truth. "You're sweating… which means that you _have_ done something with Leone. And I know just what you two did behind my back…" she leaned closer and started to whisper something in Tatsumi's ear.

"Let me tell you this, Tatsumi. I won't let Leone get ahead of me. If she wants this to play in her way, then I'll accept the challenge." she told him before pulling him towards the bed and straddled his hips, a look of determination clearly seen on her face.

" _Sometimes, I wonder how can her sister live with this kind of possessiveness…"_ Tatsumi thought, sweat-dropping as a result.

* * *

After Akame got her early _meal_ , like always, Tatsumi started his morning by training with with the girl, which eventually ended after only an hour when the red-eyed assassin needed to get started with breakfast. Much to her surprise, Tatsumi told her that he didn't want to work in the kitchen for the day simply because he wanted and needed to become stronger, which made Akame worry a bit for his safety and well-being. Nevertheless, she was eventually convinced when Tatsumi told her that he was doing it so he could protect everyone that he loved and keep them safe from harm, which included her.

Two hours have passed, and Tatsumi got the word from Lubbock that breakfast was finally ready to be served, but the green-haired man told him to go and wake Mine first, since she could still be asleep. Tatsumi had no problem with this and skidded over to Mine's room, and knocked twice as he spoke. "Hey, Mine! Do you have any intention of waking up? Breakfast is ready!"

There was no response from the other side.

He knocked a bit louder this time, but there was still no response. "Hey, Mine! What the hell are you doing in there, lazing around? It's time for breakfast!" he exclaimed, but he still couldn't hear anything. "Fine, you asked for it! Since I can't go back there without you by my side, I'll have to carry you out of bed!"

"WAIT!"

He heard Mine yell, but it was too late. Tatsumi had opened the door and walked inside, only to see Mine in her panties as she was preparing to put on a bra. She had no idea about Akame and Leone's relationship with Tatsumi, mainly because she was too caught up in her crush on him herself.

Yes, Mine has a crush on their recent brown-haired member that she usually stares at him whenever they have a meeting altogether. At first, she was attracted to his looks and other physical features but as time went by, she began to like him for more than that. She noticed how he had a heart of gold beneath the cold exterior that he always shows to his enemies, and not to mention their little moment when they trained together.

The time when Tatsumi hugged her when she thought that she was nothing but weak.

Mine liked him even more after that due to how warm and comforting his hug was, and soon enough he became the topic of most of the diary entries that she writes every night. Some of them even say how she would confess to Tatsumi when the time comes, and then they could live together happily with their future children in the countryside after this war was over.

However, since she doesn't want anybody to know about this yet, she continues to pretend to act cold towards Tatsumi, although there were times that she'd be caring and sweet to him, like when she lent him her pistol.

But still, that didn't stop the typical tsundere to trigger her usual reaction.

Mine was frozen as she stared into Tatsumi's eyes who had raised an eyebrow in response. Mine growled angrily.

"Why you pervert! Trying to get a peek, aren't you?!" Mine roared out, grabbing _**Pumpkin**_ from the wall and aimed for Tatsumi's head. The young man's instincts quickly acted as he moved to the side while dashing into the room. His right foot closed the door with a single push as he used it to propel himself towards Mine. He ducked under _**Pumpkin's**_ barrel before knocking it off her hands with a simple push to the rifle's side. He then grabbed Mine's right arm before picking her up by her waist as he slammed her back towards her bed, straddling her afterwards and aimed his hand to her neck like it was a knife.

Mine blinked for a few moments in total shock and just looked up at Tatsumi. "When the hell did you get so fast? You weren't like this with Akame!"

Tatsumi blinked as well, before he scratched the back of his head and stood up with an embarrassed grin on his face, closing his eyes and turning away. "Sorry… it was just a reactive instinct when I was trained as a kid. When someone aims a weapon at you, I was trained to take it out of the equation before subduing the enemy. Look, I didn't mean to walk in on you like this… I'm really sorry…"

Mine growled a bit and sat up, maintaining her scowl, before rolling her eyes. "Sorry for aiming _**Pumpkin**_ at you… I just don't like filthy perverts. But it looks like you aren't one at all… and you even have the decency to close your eyes… well, I guess I can let you live… but, if you do this again for whatever reason, I'll kill you." she warned, growling at him once more as she crossed her arms below her chest.

Tatsumi smiled a bit and headed back towards the door, keeping his eyes closed as he did so. "I understand… breakfast is ready, so hurry up and join us downstairs." he said, walking out of the door, before he stopped just outside the room. "Your tits may not be as big as the others, but they sure look fine to me." Tatsumi said, grinning.

"YOU PERVERT! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Mine roared out, grabbing _**Pumpkin**_ again and aimed it towards Tatsumi, who was still outside the room. A few seconds later though, the brunette didn't look like he was going to leave despite her teigu aimed directly towards his head, causing Mine to lower her weapon and make a confused look, wondering why he wasn't running away out of fear.

"I'm serious, Mine. I can tell that you're really insecure about that chest of yours, but trust me, it's what makes you unique. You shouldn't be ashamed of them. It's what makes Mine, Mine. I think you're beautiful enough already, so there's no need to think on how you can look better. Be proud of your own looks, okay? Take it as an advice. Later!" he finished, continuing on his way down the hallway.

The pinkette inside the room could be compared to a tomato in terms of skin color right now because of what she heard from Tatsumi's mouth. Mine's skin became redder and redder by the second and when steam started to come out from her ears, she couldn't take it anymore.

Mine rushed forward and closed the door shut as she leaned against its wooden surface. " _T-That idiot, what the heck is he saying?!"_ she thought to herself, placing her hand on her chest to feel her pounding heart. " _I-Is he messing with me or something?! Wait… d-does he mean it? Am I… am I really beautiful this way? N-No, stop it! Who cares what that idiot thinks?!"_

She couldn't deny it, the happiness that she felt inside her heart.

* * *

 **(Same Time; Palace's Torture Chamber)**

Deep beneath the capital's palace was a room constantly filled with pained screams and howls. The people who were stuck in this hell could be heard begging for their lives to end already. The room was barely lit and the stench was a combination of dried blood, sweat, and rotting flesh. Every inch of the room was filled with different devices and tools built for torture, enough to send chills to a normal civilian's spine.

In one corner of the room, a masked man gouged a prisoner's eyes out and forcing him to eat them, while at the opposite end of the room, another masked man continuously whipped a prisoner and the skin on his back bloodied and beaten. In the center of the room there was a giant cauldron, where prisoners who defied the minister willingly were boiled alive until they die.

"This is what happens to those who defy the minister!" An masked executioner said, dragging a naked woman by her hair towards the cauldron. "Come on, bitch! I want to hear you scream to the heavens so your God can hear you! I want to hear you beg for your life!"

"What are you simpletons doing?" a menacing voice said from behind the executioner. The voice was so cold and icy that it sent chills down his whole body. "Watching you all goofing around in this place is making me sick and is a complete waste of time."

The man growled under his breath and turned around. "Who dares —" the executioner stopped in his words immediately when his gaze met the icy glare of the strongest person in the empire. "G-G-General Esdeath!" Upon hearing the name alone, all of the executioners and torturers inside the room immediately bowed to the woman. "You've returned to us at last, general! We humbly welcome your return!"

"You're all awful at torture. I don't know why the Minister picked you all to do this job…" Esdeath commented, rolling her eyes as she gazed at the gruesome scenes around her. "It's truly disgusting, and shameful to the image of the empire." Esdeath snapped her fingers and a large chunk of ice formed above her head. The ice chunk then fell into the cauldron of boiling water, causing it to cool down considerably. "I've lowered the temperature of the water by a little, and this will allow these prisoners to suffer even longer and make their cries even louder."

"We have so much to learn from you, general! Please teach us!" one of the executioners called out, falling to his knees and bowing once more to the great general.

"I don't have time to waste by teaching the lot of you." Esdeath said, turning around and walked away to leave the torture chamber.

"That's the general for you… truly ruthless and sadistic." one of the masked men commented, whistling in amusement.

"Yeah, man… she's the embodiment of bloodlust and cruelty in the empire."

 **(Five Minutes Later; Palace Throne Room)**

"General Esdeath." The young emperor said, looking down at the blue-haired woman before him. "I must commend you on your successful conquest of the North. As a reward, I'll offer you ten thousand gold pieces."

"Thank you very much, Emperor." Esdeath said, smiling up at the boy. "I humbly accept your reward, and shall send it to my soldiers who I left behind to guard the Northern region. They will be most pleased when they receive it." After her statement, she bowed her head once again, her voice suddenly taking a serious turn.

"Emperor, I've heard rumors about people possessing teigus who are fighting against the empire. I've come up with the answer that the best way to fight teigus… is with teigus. Please gather six teigu users for me to lead against them. That is all that I will need to fight them all off." she explained, causing the emperor's eyes to widen. "I will create a security squad of teigu users."

"But don't you already have three teigu users? Your Three Beasts? You need six more on top of that?" The young boy asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Your highness, there is no need to worry. Simply grant General Esdeath any of her requests." The minister said, dumping a greasy slab of meat into his mouth as a smirk lingered in his lips.

"Hmm, well if you say so, then I won't worry." The emperor said, nodding in confirmation.

"Excellent. I shall make all the necessary arrangements at once." The minister said, a sinister smirk spreading across his face. _"Esdeath has no interest in political power at all. All she cares about is fighting and crushing her every opponent. With me in control, she can have fun and run as wild as she wants. That woman is my ultimate trump card to win this game!"_

"I sincerely don't think that gold is enough for all of your efforts, General. I wish to reward you with something more." The emperor said as he smiled at Esdeath. "Is there anything else you desire? A title? Land? Name anything you want, and I will do my best to obtain it for you."

"Well… if I had to choose something…" Esdeath said. _"I could have a search party be sent out to look for that hooded stranger I fought years ago in every region of the country... 8 years have passed, and I still have the intense desire to fight him! Because of him, I've reached this place where I am now and I'll have to thank him for it... after I humiliate him in front of all the people here in the capital! But... I'll hold this off for now. I need to calm myself and think away from it..."_ she thought to herself, a small smile appearing on her face as she blushed slightly. "I'd like to find love."

"That makes perfect sense!" The emperor exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "You're at the right age to marry, and you're still single as of now."

"But don't you already have dozens of men falling at your feet?" The minister asked, giving Esdeath a skeptical look.

"Them? They are all mere… pets." she replied, chuckling under her breath.

"Well then, I'll have fun playing the matchmaker!" The emperor said as he pointed towards the Minister. "What about the minister here? He's a good man and he's always willing to help me in my duties."

Honest nearly choked on his food upon hearing the emperor's words.

"That is true, but…" Esdeath said, trying to hide the amusement on her face with a small smirk. "The Minister has extremely high blood pressure, and I fear that he might not last much longer."

"Well then…" the Minister said, his voice full of irritation. He may terribly favor the woman, but that didn't stop him from being annoyed with her words. "What type of man are you looking for, general?"

"I've already prepared a list…" Esdeath said, pulling out a piece of paper out from between her breasts. "It's full of my criteria for my ideal man. If you find anyone who satisfies my standards, then let me know."

"Very well then…" the emperor said as a servant handed him the piece of paper. "I'll look over this and get to work immediately."

* * *

 **(The Next Day; Grand Canal)**

"Woah, that is one huge ship." Sayo muttered, walking up the gangway towards the towering vehicle. None of the other passengers and guests could see it, but Bulat was actually walking in front of Sayo, invisible to the naked eye thanks to _**Incursio**_. Sheele was just beside her, her usual attire covered by a formal dress so she could go undercover without anybody knowing who she was.

Sayo then groaned in annoyance. She hated wearing dresses, as it made her look like a little girl, but since she was going undercover, she had to blend in with the partygoers that were attending the Dragon Ship's launch ceremony. Her usual outfit was hidden beneath the dress just like how Sheele wore hers, and her hair was tied in a bun. Finally making their way onto the deck, Sayo immediately turned towards her purple-haired companion and began to whisper in a low voice.

"Stay in one spot, okay?" she told Sheele. "You might attract attention if you do anything stupid."

After seeing Sheele nod, Sayo carefully made her way through the crowd, finding a place where she could stay to look less suspicious. She then stopped upon seeing a table full of drinks and food. _"I'm getting kind of hungry right now… I wasn't able to eat breakfast properly earlier, so I guess… a bite won't hurt?"_ she thought to herself, happily grabbing a chicken leg from the buffet and began to eat.

As Sayo observed the elegantly dressed partygoers, only one person stuck out the most to him, but she only managed to get a quick glimpse of that person. She couldn't use _**Spectator**_ to help herself out either, because it would be a dead giveaway. From what she saw, the person appeared to be a small young boy, whose striking features included small devil horns on his head and a devil's tail, and he was clutching a box close to his chest.

 _"Hmm, that kid looks a bit suspicious. I need to keep a closer eye on him."_ Releasing a light sigh, Sayo grabbed another chicken leg from the table as well as a glass of water. "Wow, this is actually a pretty cool party… too bad we're on duty right now, I could have fun just a bit around here." The girl nearly shrieked in surprise when she felt a hand suddenly pat her on the shoulder, but when she turned around, no one was there.

"You're posing as a daughter of a wealthy landowner, so don't look so impressed by the capital's wealth, otherwise it'll expose your real identity." Bulat told her quietly, still invisible under _**Incursio's**_ protection. "You have to act the part so you won't stick out as a suspicious one in the eyes of the guards here."

"Yeah, I know." Sayo muttered, waving Bulat off with an annoyed look. "You can't blame me though, this is the first time I've been in the capital, so all of this is pretty new to me. Don't worry though, I won't do anything suspicious if that's what you're worried about."

A few more minutes later, all of the guests and visitors have made their way inside the huge ship. Sayo leaned her head off the edge of the ship to give the capital one last look before the ship departed for its maiden journey. A large crowd had gathered around the docks to watch the ship depart. " _There's no going back now."_ she thought to herself with a sigh.

"We're having the assumption that the Night Raid impostors might show up here… but this place is seriously packed to be a battlefield of any sorts." Sayo said, looking at their target. "The old man we're supposed to be protecting is surrounded by a small army of guards…" She then noticed Sheele from the other side of the ship looking at her, before shaking her head. "Hmm… even Sheele's got nothing from her —"

Before the dark-haired girl could say anything else, she quickly leaned her head back to avoid a sudden punch. She then turned her head to the side to see Bulat partially uncloaking himself, a small part of his helmet showing.

"Looks like your reflexes and awareness are just as good as Tatsumi's… I won't have to give you a refresher then." Bulat complimented, crossing his arms across his chest. "But don't let your guard down by making assumptions. We never know what those impostors have up their sleeve, so don't think about underestimating them."

"I know, I don't need you to lecture me…" she sighed, staring out into the waters. "I'm just saying there's a chance that this might be safe and there's no attack happening today, hell I could even dodge a punch from you, so no need to tell me not to let my guard down."

"That's good to hear then, but remember that I was only able to sneak aboard this ship because of _**Incursio**_. So, there's no knowing what tricks the enemy could have in store for us. Imagine what could have happened if I wasn't using this." Bulat said, leaning against the edge of the ship like what Sayo was doing.

"Yeah, I got your point…" the dark-haired girl said, her mind going back to the suspicious boy she noticed earlier. _"Maybe I should try to find that kid after a few more minutes."_ Deciding that she'd go and look more into the boy later on, she looked up at her comrade. "That armor of yours is so amazing! It can turn you invisible and Tatsumi told me many other things that you could do with it."

"Yep!" Bulat cheered, beating his chest with his fist. " _ **Incursio**_ allowed me to fight and survive on the frontlines during the war against the tribes in the Southern Region. _**Incursio**_ is like my very own partner in battle. But…" Sayo then noticed the sudden turn in Bulat's voice. "Despite all my efforts, I wasn't able to save General Liver. He refused to send bribes to the minister and he was taken prisoner. He planned to go to the capital and plead for his innocence, but… the men that we fought held a grudge against me and the general, so they framed us both as criminals. And then, I did something truly cowardly that day… I ran off with my teigu before they could arrest me, and I had no choice but to leave General Liver behind."

"That's sad…" Sayo muttered, looking at Bulat with a concerned expression on her face.

"Whoops." the large man said as several portions of his armor began to reappear once again. "My invisibility is reaching its end… I'll have to take _**Incursio**_ off for a little while."

"People know your face, right? I remember seeing some posters of you back in the capital." Sayo said, looking around the whole place to get a quick view of her surroundings. "You can leave the top deck to me."

"Alright, I'll go get Sheele while I'm still partially invisible." Bulat said, beginning to walk towards their purple-haired comrade, who was searching the area around her for her fallen glasses. "We'll go check the lower levels then."

"Okay, now I better get to —" Sayo was cut off when the sound of a flute being played began to fill the air. "Wait, why am I hearing a flute?"

* * *

 ** _Tatsumi's history with Esdeath is not yet revealed, but we're getting a few clues!_**

 ** _Mine's crush on Tatsumi is way too different from what happened in canon, but what can I say? How could you not fall for a badass, strong, hot, kind, and caring Tatsumi if you were Mine? This may be OOC for her, but hey. It's fanfiction, and I love her too much to have Tatsumi oppose her tsundere-ness head-on._**

 ** _Esdeath is back in the empire and she's cooking up the tournament where she'll meet Tatsumi! But who the hell is she talking about with that hooded stranger thing?_**

 ** _Sayo is in the cursed ship with Sheele and Bulat! What'll happen from here?! Will Bulat die?! Will Sayo die?! Or perhaps, Sheele?! Either way, this is getting more interesting..._**

 _ **Harem: Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Sheele, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	12. Kill the Meeting

"Normal Talking **"**

 _"Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters…**_

* * *

 **(Same Time; Village of Tensui)**

A young dark-haired teenage girl hummed a happy tune as she casually cleaned her sword. The sight wouldn't normally seem too strange in the eyes of a normal soldier of the empire, but to a normal villager, it is. The girl was currently sitting atop a large pile of bloodied corpses, and she alone slayed them all single-handedly.

"Kurome! Pass down that corpse already!" A soldier yelled to the girl in an authoritative voice.

"Hmm, all right. I'm done playing with her anyways." Kurome said, gently kicking the corpse that was on top of the large pile. The girl them sighed lightly, before pulling out a small sack full of candies. " _This is making me feel hungry…"_ she thought to herself.

"Kurome! You've been called to the capital!" an officer said, finished conversing with another officer who looked like he just came from the capital. This caused the young girl to quirk an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Just me?" Kurome asked, taking a bite out of one of her candies before pointing to herself.

"Yeah… something about being chosen as of the five people…"

"The capital, huh?" Kurome mused, dusting off her skirt and stood up with a small smile on her face. "Hmm, I might see big sister Akame there… I can't wait to see her again…"

 **(Same Time; Capital's Main Street)**

General Esdeath casually strolled through the capital's streets, with seemingly no guards present around her. Leone was positioned on a nearby rooftop and observed Esdeath. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she watched the general wave and smile at the people that she passed by. Every person that she passed by paid their proper respects and bowed their heads to her. This made Leone confused. Terrible things and rumors were all that she heard about this woman, but from what she was seeing…

Esdeath… seemed like a nice person?

No, of course it could all be a front to hide her evil and sadistic side. She had known better than to judge a book by its cover and not its contents. Leone's sensitive ears then perked up the moment she heard Esdeath's voice.

"There's no need to bow to me. I was simply introducing myself to the people of the capital." Esdeath said, smiling at the owner of a sweets shop. "I will be in charge of the capital's security from now on, to ensure the safety and well-being of all the citizens."

"Yes! That is the best news I've heard today, General Esdeath!" The shop owner exclaimed as he handed over a small handful of gold coins towards Esdeath. "H-Here's a good show of —!" he was then cut off from his words when the blue-haired woman suddenly took two of those gold coins and shoved them right into his eyes. The man screamed in pain afterwards, before collapsing to his knees.

"I don't need your petty bribes." Esdeath said calmly, flashing a sadistic smile. "Do something like this again and I'll have to hurt you."

"It already hurts too much…" The shop owner wheezed, slowly making it back to his feet

"Bring me your specialty." the general ordered before she took a seat outside the shop. "Your store is quite famous here, isn't it?"

"Yes, general! I'll be right back with your food!" The shop owner yelled, rushing back inside his shop to prepare Esdeath's order.

 _"That woman is all by herself out here in the open, and she's completely unguarded… this should be the perfect time to attack her."_ Leone thought as she felt an intense chill run down her spine. _"Normally, I'd sneak up and go in for the kill… but since I'm in beast form, it's obvious… that bitch is trying to lure me into a trap! I can smell it on her… an overwhelming thirst for blood!"_ Just before she could make another move, the shop owner returned handed Esdeath an ice cream cone.

Leone gritted her teeth and dug her claws into the rooftop, feeling enraged that she missed her chance to kill Esdeath. _"I was an idiot to stay here and think… I had a chance to take her down!"_ she thought with determination, preparing to jump down and ambush the general only for her to stop in the process, remembering Tatsumi's words a few days before.

Calming down from her own bloodlust, Leone sighed afterwards. _"I hate to have to do this… but it's for the sake of everyone, including my own… I have to retreat for now, but I'll be back to hunt you down…"_ Shooting Esdeath one last menacing glare, Leone stood up and sprinted away towards the opposite direction.

"Hmm, that strange delinquent is gone." Esdeath muttered, looking at the rooftop where she sensed Leone's presence as she began licking her ice cream. "It's a shame that she didn't take the bait… I had planned to try out some new torture techniques." A twisted smile suddenly spread across Esdeath's face as her demeanor changed momentarily.

"But… I have a feeling that things are going to get interesting very soon. And I can't wait for that day to finally happen…" Licking her ice cream again, Esdeath smiled again and released a sigh of contentment. "This is pretty good… I like it… hmm, as soon as they are done with their mission… I'll treat my Three Beasts to some as well."

* * *

 **(The Dragon Ship; Guest Cabins)**

"Your tone is as soothing as ever." Liver complimented, sitting across from Nyau with a small smile on his face. "It really does suit this ship for its maiden voyage. Hmm, it looks like the ship has already departed from the capital and is out of sight now." he continued, gazing out a nearby window. "You really timed this perfectly."

" _ **Scream**_ , _a flute teigu that can manipulate the emotions and hypnotize those who hear it."_ Nyau thought with an evil smirk. " _It's usually used on the battlefield to boost a soldier's morale… but there are far more emotions that I can manipulate than just that. The possibilities are almost limitless."_ he finished in his thoughts before turning his attention back to Liver. "I've been playing for quite a while, so everyone above deck should be knocked out for some time, and it will give us the time we need." he said, setting his teigu down next to him.

"Don't let your guard down, because there is a chance that some country folk may be on this ship who can't and won't appreciate your flute's quality." Liver warned, resting his head on his hand as his elbow was propped up on the table.

"Don't worry, I won't." Nyau said, before grabbing his flute again. "Actually, I'll play a little more just to be safe. Thank you for the warning, by the way."

 **(Same Time; Above Deck)**

"The hell is going on around here?" Sayo muttered, propping herself up with the ship's railing so she could see the whole place. The dark-haired girl looked around her and saw that several other passengers had passed out almost everywhere. Upon feeling something weird inside her mind that strangely caused her a massive headache, Sayo gritted her teeth, covering her ears as she struggled to keep herself from collapsing. She may not have the physical strength similar to that of Tatsumi's, but Sayo's willpower was something that should not be underestimated.

 _"Shit, this is tough… it's hard to resist this spell or whatever it is! But… I have the feeling that it has to be that flute that's causing all of this. I can still hear it even if I cover my ears!"_ she thought to herself, doing her very best to stay conscious through the tune that was being played.

"Ah forget it!" a loud voice exclaimed from behind Sayo. Quickly spinning around to find out the cause of the noise, she then saw a large man walking towards her. "I'm sick of hiding like a rat, I want to be unleashed… OH! Would you look at this one? There's still a little brat who's holding out… don't worry, the hypnosis will make you forget who I leave in this ship alive."

"So…" Tatsumi breathed out, quickly recovering from the headache that just washed through her. "You're one of those cowardly Night Raid impostors."

"Hmm, how did you — OHO! This must mean that you're the real deal! This just made my day a lot better!" The large man cheered on in an excited tone. As bent down towards a collapsed guard, the man tossed his spear towards Sayo. "Take this."

"What are you doing?" she asked, catching the sword in her grasp.

"I wish… to gain experience through fighting… and I would gain more if my opponent is worthy!" he exclaimed as a wicked smile spread across his face. "Because I, Daidara, wish to become the strongest of all. So, Night Raid…" he reached for his back and pulled out a large, double-bladed axe. "Come at me with all you've got. You won't have to worry about hitting any innocent civilians here, so there's no need to hold back. Give me a meaningful fight!"

"I see…" Sayo said as she threw away the spear with disgust before jumping back a few times to get some distance from the blonde-haired man. As she landed near the ship's bow, she brought out her weapon. "Then I'll give you a meaningful fight…" she brought out an arrow and aimed her weapon towards Daidara. "My own way!"

"NO!" Bulat yelled as he jumped into the fray, already jumping into the fray with _**Incursio**_ ready for battle. Daidara was taken aback slightly by his sudden appearance and Bulat took advantage by sending him flying straight into a wall with a single punch. "We got this, Sayo! Go call for backup from the Tatsumi and the others!"

"You can't handle this on your own!" Sayo exclaimed, looking at her comrade in disbelief that she nearly dropped her bow out of shock. "Let me help!"

"No! You'll die if you get caught in this. Since you're supposed to be a long-range type, you'll be the first to be targeted. Leave this to us and get out of here! This ship's distance to the mainland is not yet far, so you can swim it all the way. Hurry!" he persuaded the girl, who only looked horrified at his words.

" _This isn't good… I thought we would be able to do this without triggering open conflict, but we're caught. No doubt that they all must be using teigus, which is how they caught on to us. The others must know about this as soon as possible, so they can figure out a way for us to kill these men."_ Bulat continued in his mind as he observed Daidara from afar.

Sayo was conflicted, as she had never been on a mission like this before. The girl thought that this would be just like the missions she did with ease, but it wasn't. It was completely different. She looked at Bulat, before turning her gaze towards Daidara, who just begun to get up from his earlier crash and she seemed to be doubtful of her own self. However, she did know that in being an assassin, sacrifices must be made so she steeled herself for her decision.

"O-Okay, Bulat!" said Sayo, who looked like she wasn't sure of her own answer, but slung her bow back on her shoulder nonetheless. "But please, you guys have to make it out of here in one piece! I can't bear the thought that something bad will happen to you two! I won't be able to forgive myself if something happens to you and Sheele!"

"Don't worry. We'll take care of this, so just hurry and get out of here. We're getting farther and farther from the mainland as we speak, Sayo." He told her and the girl nodded with determination, hurrying towards the edge of the ship and preparing to jump into the water.

"Oh, I don't think you'll be leaving this place alive." A new voice spoke up, causing both assassins to turn their heads to whoever just spoke up. Bulat immediately hid behind a bunch of crates, which was hard to do because of his large body. A tall, silver-haired man with a mustache was walking towards them with the blonde boy that Sayo deemed suspicious earlier. "You have engaged in combat with our comrade, and now it's time for us to return the favor."

"I knew it… that blonde bastard did have some companions…" Sayo remarked, glaring at the tall man before turning towards the smaller boy. "And you… I knew there was something up with you the moment I saw you."

"Ooh, I love the face you're making!" the boy said, pulling out a dagger. "I think you'll be a fine addition to my collection!"

"We don't have time to play games, Nyau. We have to kill her quickly, so we can get to our target." The older man scolded, pulling out a dagger from his sleeve.

"Aw, and I thought this would be a fun day for me, Liver!" Nyau complained, looking to the side with a displeased look. "All right, but you owe me with this."

" _Damn it, Bulat can't make a move while he's hiding!"_ Sayo thought to herself as she prepared her bow. " _I need to create an opening so I can escape this darn place!"_ Using _**Spectator**_ , she was able to spot several crates of gunpowder atop the deck and with speed that she had developed by training exclusively with Akame, she pulled out an arrow with a thin line of tinder along its shaft, which was one of the special arrows that Sayo designed herself for situations like this.

The arrow was capable of detonating by itself because of the friction it will create when it hits a hard surface, which will set off the tinder and cause it to explode. The explosion caused afterwards is not large, but it is a crucial move for times like this. Readying her bow, Sayo aimed for the center crate before she took a deep breath and fired.

Liver smirked and simply cocked his head to the side to avoid her shot, not caring where it just hit. "You're gonna have to try a bit harder than that, little —"

 **BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!**

Upon impact, the arrow went off immediately and caused the crates on the top deck to explode, momentarily stunning the three men and creating a smokescreen that covered almost half of the whole ship.

While Sayo was using her teigu to tell if her distraction did the trick, Bulat emerged from his hiding spot with a large grin on his face. "Sayo, that was incredible! Now, that's what you call a distraction!" he cheered on as the girl slung her bow back on her shoulder and prepared to jump off the side of the ship.

"I need to hurry, Bulat. That smokescreen won't last long and I need to get back to the mainland." Sayo said in a serious tone, turning her head to look at the _**Incursio**_ user. "What direction should I swim towards to get back?"

Bulat was a bit surprised at her sudden change of attitude; earlier, she was having doubts and refused to leave both him and Sheele to themselves in this place but this wasn't the time to praise the girl for doing the right thing at a troubling situation. He then cleared his throat and pointed to the sky, where a several seagulls were flying through the air together, as if they were heading to the same destination.

"See those gulls? If you follow their route, it should take you back to the mainland. If I'm not mistaken, you'll end up about 2 kilometers away from the Grand Canal, so it should be enough for you to get to the others and inform them about this." Bulat quickly explained, before they heard a voice not far from where they were.

"Well, well…" came the unexpected voice of Liver that could be heard through the smokescreen that was still covering half the ship. "That voice… I've heard it before. It's been a long time, hasn't it Bulat? Your former superior says hello."

Bulat turned around to face the direction where he just heard his former commander's voice. "So, it's you, General Liver… I can't imagine an honorable man like you would stoop as low as to the point to using Night Raid's name for your own crimes."

Liver's tone took a sarcastic turn as he chuckled lightly. "Oh, what would a child like you know? I live to serve Master Esdeath ever since she saved me… and I will serve her un —"

 **BOOM!**

Another explosion took place on the lower deck of the ship, which shook the whole thing and causing Sayo to nearly fall over the edge, only to have Bulat catch her by her hand. The smokescreen that was already covering half the ship became bigger and larger as fire began to break out in the cabins below deck. The Three Beasts had a hard time maintaining their balance, and Sayo was able to see them struggling through _**Spectator**_ , causing the girl to smile until they saw someone behind Bulat.

Sheele's head popped out from one of the entrances to the lower deck with an apologetic look on her face. "I'm terribly sorry… I was searching for my glasses down there but then I accidentally stepped on something that made something explode…" she muttered in embarrassment, until Bulat exploded into laughter.

"No need to apologize, Sheele! In fact, that was actually helpful of you! Now, Sayo can get out of here without having to worry about the enemy!" Bulat grinned before turning back towards Sayo, who was still clinging on to his arm at the edge of the ship. "Sayo, listen up! I need you to let go of me and start swimming! Any moment now, the smokescreen could be gone and we'll lose our one chance of having you escape!"

"I'm way ahead of you!" exclaimed Sayo, letting go of the man's arm and landed on the water with a huge splash. It took a few seconds, but she managed to swim back to the surface and call out to her comrades. "Bulat! Sheele! Just hang on, okay? I promise you, I'll bring back help when I return!" she shouted out as she began to swam.

Sheele and Bulat both watched as the dark-haired girl do her best to swim away from the ship until the purple-haired woman broke the silence between them. "Bulat, where is Sayo heading to?" she asked curiously.

"Heh, I'll tell you later…" the man said with a light chuckle before he turned his attention to the area where he last heard Liver at the opposite side of the ship. "In the meantime… we've got our hands full with these people here."

* * *

"Liver! The girl is getting away! We cannot allow her to leave and ask for help from her fellow assassins!" said Nyau, covering his mouth to prevent inhaling the smoke around him.

"How could I do anything with this stupid smoke getting in the way of my vision?" replied Liver, gritting his teeth as he turned towards their other comrade. "Daidara, this smoke shouldn't be able to reach your position! Stop that girl from swimming away before she gets back to land!"

"Damn it… why me? There's no fun in chasing a useless little girl…" Daidara muttered to himself before he noticed an armored guard who was passed out beside him. Quickly though, he managed to think of a plan that would benefit him since he didn't really want to chase somebody throughout the whole canal. He'd rather stay and fight some Night Raid assassins, which would further improve his experience in battle.

He smirked evilly, knowing just how to get the job done without even leaving the ship.

* * *

What's this?

What's going on? Hello?

Hey, where am I? Crap, did I have another one of those _damn_ nightmares?! Oh no, this is exactly what I've been fearing once I got this job… I thought everything would be finally all right after I become an Imperial Guard, but apparently… nightmares still attack my mind every now and then.

Hang on, what happened earlier? Did I fall asleep somehow? Wait a minute, that's impossible! I never fall asleep on the job! I knew it, I'm just being paranoid. Now, let's retrace back to what I remember before this. Okay, I was tasked by the Commander to keep watch of any suspicious-looking people in the Dragon Ship and bring them to justice, and then I suddenly heard some weird music…

Weird music… where could it have come from? Wait, am I even awake?

"Hey! Wake up! Can you hear me?"

Apparently not. Damn, I felt that slap!

I slowly opened my eyes, rubbing them to see just who was calling out to me. Blinking a few times, I looked up to finally get a clear view on who was pressuring me to wake up. The gentleman in front of me was a really large guy and he looked like he worked out, judging from the size of that body. He had long and spiky blonde hair, which was combed back by a horn-looking headdress. What else… oh, shit… this guy is deadly scary!

His eyes don't even have any pupils! Am I having another nightmare or something?!

"What's your name?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at me.

"O-Ozaki!" I exclaimed out of fear. "Ozaki Ren of the Imperial Guard! W-What can I do for you?"

"Well Ozaki, I don't have time to explain everything so I'll go straight to the point. Any chance that you have heard of General Esdeath?" he asked with a smirk on his lips.

Esdeath? _The_ General Esdeath? Come on, a better question would be 'Who didn't know her'! She's literally one of the most talked about in the whole Capital and all soldiers aspire to be like her! Although I haven't met her in real life, she is like a role model to me. Everything that I aspire to be, I see in her! It was a truly sad thought that I could never be like her… we are way too different. At the age of 22, she is the youngest general in the whole Empire while I am just a mere soldier on guard duty.

Which is probably one of the reasons why I was thrown out of the family house.

"Yes, sir! I do! What of her?" I said frantically, excitement flowing in me. If this talk pertains to General Esdeath in some way, I will not turn my back on it. I must prove my worth to the capital if I am to achieve my dream of being acknowledged and loved by other people.

"Let me introduce myself then. I am Daidara, one of the general's Three Beasts, her elite bodyguards who are sworn to protect her at all costs. And I'm on a mission here for the good of the Empire. Mind helping out a bit? The general would be delighted to hear of your exploits here and I'll even recommend you a promotion!" he told me.

Are you kidding me? Are my ears deceiving me or something? A chance to please General Esdeath? This is exactly what I need all along! Once she speaks highly of me, everyone in my family will finally acknowledge me and it would finally be the day that I prove myself worthy of being an Imperial Guard for the empire! And I'd do anything to make that happen!

Even if I have to trust this menacing-looking man…

"Of course! I'd be honored to help out the Empire any way I can? What do I have to do, Mr. Daidara?" I said as a response, forcing myself to stand up on my feet as quick as I can. If I'm supposed to please the general, then it is in the rulebook of any soldier that she doesn't like tardiness and disrespect.

"Ah, a dedicated dog! Just what I need!" he laughed, and I chose to ignore his remark. I have been called many insulting names throughout my lifetime that I got used to them. If this was years ago, I would be rolling on the floor and crying my eyes out, but I guess time changes people. "Follow me, I'm gonna show you something."

Mr. Daidara led me to the stern of the ship. Which was overlooking the canal that led back to the mainland of the country. It was a truly magnificent sight to see, but I was forced to look at a certain part of the waters, not far from our ship. Wait a minute, there's something strange floating on the water. Could it be an aquatic Danger Beast? They are so unpredictable these days that you don't know when — hang on, two arms and two feet… is it another person that was swimming through these waters?! Hang on, that's too dangerous to do! I'll help him!

I was ready to jump into the water when I felt somebody pull me back. Mr. Daidara was smirking as he carried me by the collar of my armor. Please put me down, sir! It's bad enough that I have to wear this all day!

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." He began to explain. "I know you want to jump in there and go to that weak girl and —"

"Daidara! What is taking you so long?!" exclaimed another voice. I didn't know who it was, so I tried to look back and see who it is, but the large man carrying me prevented me from even taking a peek. "Help us fight these two assassins!"

"All right, all right! You guys are either weak or you can't handle this without me." he grumbled under his breath before turning his attention towards me. "Okay Ozaki, I don't have much time. See that girl swimming through the waters?" He pointed to the person I saw earlier, and I nodded. It was a girl? I couldn't notice the differences. "That girl is a criminal and she escaped us by swimming away from this ship. Bring her back here so the general can deal with her then after we've dealt with her two other accomplices here. The general knows just how to make people like her suffer." He laughed evilly afterwards.

O… kay? As I have said, I didn't really trust Mr. Daidara over here, so I must be sure of what is the situation at hand. As an Imperial Guard, it is one of my duties to help innocent people, and there is a chance that that lady down below may be innocent and is simply just accused of a crime.

"Mr. Daidara, are you sure that she is a criminal? She might be innocent and you're just accusing her for the wrong crime." I asked, raising an eyebrow at the girl who still hasn't gotten far due to her physical figure as a lady. In any case that she really is a criminal, this shall give me an advantage to capture her.

The large blonde man dropped me on top of the edge, sending chills down my spine. I could feel my black hair disappearing from my head in a comical way, and the height from here could kill me out of fear, but I focused myself to look at Mr. Daidara, who raised up a humongous double-edged axe against my neck, and I held up my hands out of instinct. Okay, mental note. Definitely don't want to dance with this guy in the future, no matter how much training I put my body into. This guy seriously gives me the creeps not only with his eyes, now with his weapon!

"Are you doubting my words?" he asked me dangerously, and I immediately shook my head repeatedly. I didn't want to die, not when I still have a chance to prove myself to the capital, to the Emperor, to my family, and to the world. "Then we're good!" he continued with a wide grin, before pushing me off the edge.

I screamed as I fell crashing into the water, and I knew I had to swim back up to the surface again. Taking a few deep breaths, I focused my gaze on Mr. Daidara, who was still up there on the ship staring down at me.

"Remember! Bring that girl back here to the ship!" he shouted out to me. "I'll make this ship stop moving so you can catch up to us! Once you do, I'll make sure the general knows what you did today!" he finished, running off to 'help' his comrades, from what I remember because there was somebody screaming for him to help them… right?

Ah, forget about that.

I turned my attention to the girl that Mr. Daidara entrusted me to bring back to him. She hasn't gotten far yet, so this was my chance to catch up while I still had time. I took another deep breath and began to swim my way towards her, kicking my feet against the water and using my arms to propel myself towards her. I HAVE to do this! Wait, no…

I NEED to do this. This could be my one shot in redeeming myself and proving everybody in my family wrong, and I won't let it be put to waste! I put in every bit of energy I have in me to chase after the girl that I even ignored the fatigue that I was starting to feel in my legs.

I didn't care how long it would take me. All I knew was that I had to catch up to the girl swimming farther away from the ship by the second. I was lucky enough that she had to take a few stops here and there, probably because her body wasn't trained to withstand this much pressure on the muscles at once. Also, she hasn't even noticed me yet!

Finally, I was about 5 meters away from her after who-knows-how long, and she was taking another short break from all the swimming that she did. Now was the moment that would most likely be the hardest part to do. "Lady! Stop right there!" I exclaimed, and upon hearing my voice, she quickly went back to swimming. Great job, Ren… there goes your one chance at being acknowledged by your own people!

No! I can't give up here!

I swam after her even faster than before, as I wasn't going to let this chance go. "W-Wait! I won't… hurt you! I'm just… I'm just tasked to bring you back to the s-ship!" I tried to speak out, yet it was hard to do so when the seawater kept going into my mouth. "P-Please! Let's… talk this out, lady!"

"Stay where you are or I'll kill you!" she shrieked out, kicking her feet furiously to try and buy herself some time to escape from me. Hmph! Why won't she listen?! I don't have any weapons with me right now since my spear was left on the ship! Come on, lady give me a break!

"Lady, I'm not gonna hurt… you! Come on, I have no weapons here! I'm just… trying to…" Come on, me! I'm almost by her foot! I can reach her… just a little bit more! There! Yes! I'm holding her foot! This is my chance! I pulled myself towards her with her foot and held her by the waist. I didn't want to look like a pervert, but this lady forced me to do this. All I wanted was for her to give in without question!

"All right, that's enough!" I shouted, holding her in place to prevent her from moving any further. I slowly maneuvered her around so she could turn to face me. "Lady… look, all I wanted was to —!" I suddenly felt something pierce me on my stomach. It was so fast that I couldn't even tell how painful it was had I felt it all along.

My eyes widened, and my gaze fell down to my abdominal area. Shit, water started to stain red as the girl in front of me drove her knife deeper into my stomach; it did hurt buckets, but surprisingly I didn't scream out in pain. The hell? Oh no… is this end for me? No, please! I don't want to die here yet! Come on! This isn't how it's supposed to be! You're supposed to be proving your worth to the empire!

I tried to move, but all that happened was that my head fell down on her shoulder, my eyes as wide as saucers.

"No… this c-can't… be… this… can't be… the end…" I muttered with every inch of life that I have left.

I groaned loudly as I felt the lady pull out her knife from my stomach, and I could feel my blood spurting everywhere before she pushed me off her and swam away. I could literally feel her feet kicking my head away… heh! Thanks a lot! You just made my death a little bit worse than it already should be!

Next thing I knew, water was already all over me, and I started to lose sight of the bright sunlight that seemed to continue trying to reach out to me. Wait, scratch that. There barely was any sunlight today because of damn storm clouds. Fate just couldn't pick a better day for me to die, could it? All I could see right now was my own blood, and my sight was drenched in nothing but red.

I felt sadness inside me. Why did it have to be this way? Just when I thought that I could finally do something to make my family and the people around me acknowledge me for something I did, I die in the middle of a damn canal! Damn it, damn it, damn it, DAMN IT! If I could, I'd scream out to the world why the heck is my life unfair compared to others. How come all my childhood friends be loved by everyone around them, but not me? What's wrong with me?! Why can't I just relive my life all over again and change some decisions I make? Maybe that'd change my fate, at least a little bit.

I'm not saying that I never want to die. But if someone up there loves me, which I doubt, they'll give me a chance to possibly go back and let me change my life for the better. I've always been a scrawny weakling that I consider me becoming an Imperial Guard a miracle to happen. PLEASE! I don't want this to be the end of my story! Let me change my life one more time! Let me change some of the wrong decisions I made! Let me live for something worth living for…

I stop eventually. This is going nowhere. My eyesight is becoming less and less clearer, and this was the sign of the end for me.

But what the heck is that… orange-looking… thingy just… there… by… the…

* * *

Although she was freezing for staying in the water for more than an hour, Sayo didn't even hesitate to continue on running as soon as she got out of the water. She felt like she could collapse at any moment, but she couldn't let that happen. She had to find the others, and she didn't care who, as long as she would get help, it was fine. Her hair and clothes were all wet, and she was visibly shivering, yet she kept on running.

At the same time, Akame, Tatsumi and Seryu were all heading down the same pathway. They had completed their mission of protecting their target way earlier because Koro managed to sniff out the ones who were planning to assassinate their person of interest.

Using their newfound information, the three made quick work of their enemies without even generating attention from other people. They stuck around for a few more minutes to see if they would encounter the Night Raid impostors that the Boss was telling them about, but nobody showed up. Finally, when more guards arrived to protect their target, it was their sign for them to finally leave.

Now that they had loads of free time, they decided to try and look out for Bulat, Sayo, and Sheele near the canal but away from the capital so that they won't be noticed. They were planning to see if things were going well for them and if the situation called for it, they could lend their help and finish the whole mission altogether.

Little did they know of what was coming their way, though.

"Wow, Seryu! We couldn't have figured out who our enemies were if it wasn't for your little furball right there…" Tatsumi praised with a grin and a thumbs-up, feeling genuinely relieved that they were done with their mission way ahead of time.

"Oh, Koro-chan is just doing his job!" Seryu replied with a small blush, rubbing the top of her teigu's head as she carried it on her arms. "We swore to all of you that we would fight for real justice, and that's just what we did!"

"I agree with Tatsumi," Akame said as she smiled at Seryu. "I'm sorry if I doubted your allegiance back then, but it was the first time I've witnessed someone from the Imperial Guard join our group."

"It's okay, I was kind of expecting it!" Seryu waved her off.

"Now, I have no regrets in saying that I fully trust you as of now, Seryu. I'd be delighted to have a sparring match with you anytime, as I want to try and see for myself just how strong you are, even if I train you myself." Akame said, pulling a cake bar out of nowhere before stuffing it inside her mouth.

" _Where did she get that?"_ Tatsumi thought to himself, sweat-dropping at the fact that one of the only things that Akame cared about was food.

"I accept!" Seryu said with a grin. "I've heard from Tatsumi and the others that you're the strongest member of Night Raid, Akame… so it would be an honor to fight you! Right, Koro-chan?" she asked her teigu, who started jumping up and down her arms in response. "Looks like he's excited to fight against you, Akame!"

"I'll look forward to it." the red-eyed assassin said, turning her attention back on the road ahead.

"Hey, do you think that Aniki and the others are doing all right, Akame?" Tatsumi asked, turning to face his girlfriend. "Not that I'm underestimating their abilities or something, but they're on a ship right now that's sailing away from here… and I have this feeling inside me that's telling me something's going to happen today… but I'm not sure if it's good or bad."

"If I had to be honest with you, Tatsumi…" Akame released a deep sigh and looked at him with a conflicted expression. "I'm worried that those Night Raid impostors might be on that ship instead, since we didn't see them attacking our target earlier. And if that really does happen, they might need our help."

"Oh… I see…" he muttered, looking down on the ground because of the slight truth in Akame's words. Since they didn't encounter the Night Raid impostors during their mission, there was a chance that they weren't really going there and to another place instead. There was a chance that they were going to attack the Dragon Ship as much as the chance that him, Akame, and Seryu will stumble upon them.

"Tatsumi?"

"Nothing, it's nothing." he said immediately, shaking his head.

"Tatsumi, there's no need for you to lie. You can tell me anything. What's wrong?" she pressed on in a more concerned tone because her lover might be going through something that she had no idea about.

"It's nothing, really. It's just… maybe you're right." he said, scratching the back of his head afterwards. "I think there _is_ a chance that those impostors are going to that ship… but in case that really happens, then I hope we can help the others in any way we can. After all, I can fly with my teigu so getting there should be easy."

"That's optimistic of you, Tatsumi. You know how to turn a bad situation into something good in an instant. What you said just made me a lot calmer than before. I love you." Akame said with a blush as she grabbed his arm and held it close to her chest lovingly.

"A-Akame, please don't act like that while we're out here, okay?" he whispered in a low voice so that Seryu won't hear him. "Oi, Akame… come on, you can be like this when we return… just not —"

"Hey, is that who I think it is?" Seryu's voice snapped the two lovers out of their own personal world and got them to look at the orange-haired girl. Seryu was pointing ahead of them, so they turned their heads ahead, only to be shocked when they saw Sayo running towards them.

"Tatsumi! Tatsumi! Akame! Seryu!" she cried out, feeling extremely tired that she could collapse any second.

"S-SAYO?!" the young man screamed out as he rushed towards his childhood friend, leaving Akame and Seryu behind, who were in shock at his childhood friend's sudden appearance. Reaching his top speed, he managed to catch her in time before she could collapse to the ground. Leaning on his shoulder, Sayo panted in exhaustion and closed her eyes for a few moments. "Sayo, what the hell are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with Aniki and Sheele?"

The girl coughed a few times before she spoke in between breaths. "Bulat… told me… to… call the others… for… backup... " she paused for a bit, feeling her heart burning inside her chest as Tatsumi held her closer to him. He could feel that her clothes were abnormally wet. "Him… Sheele… still… fight… fighting… at the… ship… need… to help… them…"

"Tatsumi!" the brunette heard Akame called out, and he turned his head around to see his lover and Seryu running towards him and Sayo. "What's going on? What is Sayo doing here?" asked Akame, looking alarmed.

"She wasn't speaking clearly, but I think she's trying to tell me that Aniki and Sheele are calling for help from us." he said, a serious expression showing on his face. "I think… if my guess is right… then this is exactly what we've been fearing, Akame."

Akame's eyes slowly widened. "You don't mean —?"

"Yeah. Those Night Raid impostors must have targeted the Dragon Ship." Tatsumi explained, his hair shadowing his eyes. "And because Bulat asked Sayo to call for backup, then those so-called 'impostors' must be tougher than they seem. I fear the worst, that they might actually be teigu users."

"Heh… as smart as ever…" Sayo said, regaining her breath, struggling to get back up on her feet with Tatsumi supporting her by letting her lean on his shoulder. "No wonder you're the heartthrob in the village… hehehehe…" she chuckled to herself before turning her attention back towards her three comrades. "Tatsumi is right. Those… Night Raid impostors showed up on the Dragon Ship. One of them… was a little kid, the other is a tall, middle-aged man… and the last one is a large dude with blonde hair. Bulat seems to know one of them… and they might all be carrying teigus with them. But enough of that… we need to help Bulat and Sheele before it's too late…"

"If that's the case…" Tatsumi said in a serious tone as he unsheathed _**Starfall**_. "I'll need to get over there quickly…" He looked at Seryu and Akame. "I'm sorry, you two. But I need to go and help them, and running all the way is gonna take time, much less swimming." he apologized.

"It's okay, Tatsumi. We understand." Akame said, and the orange-haired girl beside her nodded in confirmation. "Go help them, and just come back for us once you've made sure they're safe."

Tatsumi smiled slightly in return and prepared to fly away, only for Sayo to step forward, still panting slightly as she began to speak.

"Tatsumi… please take me with you." she said, a look of determination appearing on her face.

"Sayo, you need to get back to the hideout and rest." he told her in a serious voice. "You probably spent the last hour swimming all the way here because your clothes are so wet… and not to mention, you were also running to get here and find us. Seryu can take you back, and we can finish this mission on our own."

"No!" Sayo exclaimed, scowling at her childhood friend. "I am going with you back there, whether you like it or not! I promised Bulat and Sheele that I would go back for them, and I will! If something bad happens to them…" she looked down and clenched her fists tightly, suppressing her rage. "I won't be able to forgive myself! So please, let me go with you Tatsumi!"

He looked at the girl for a few seconds before a smirk graced his lips. "Ah, the same fire I loved seeing from you, Sayo. Come on then, let's hurry." he said, and Sayo smiled before she clung onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly. Tatsumi turned towards Akame and Seryu afterwards. "I'll meet you at coastline after I check on them at the ship. Time to fly!" he finished, launching himself and Sayo towards the air as they set off for the Dragon Ship.

As they watched the pair flying through the sky through the bright light that was covering them, Akame didn't even waste another second to start running off through the road that they took, a serious expression on her face.

Seryu didn't even notice her comrade run off because she was awestruck watching Tatsumi and Sayo fly through the air at an incredible speed, and Koro had to nudge her with his nose to make her divert her attention. "Koro-chan? What's wrong?" she asked, looking down at her biological teigu.

Koro pointed forward down the road while looking alarmed, and Seryu's gaze followed it. The girl then jaw-dropped upon seeing that Akame was now at least 100 meters in front of her and was still going. "Hey! Wait for me!" she exclaimed with an embarrassed look on her face, rushing off to follow Akame.

* * *

I took a few deep breaths as I dragged myself out of the cold water; my body felt really heavy and it was trouble to even move my own legs, probably because I was wet as hell. After some effort, I did manage to lie down on the rocky shore, looking up at the sky as I took a rest.

I am dumbfounded as of the moment because I was supposed to be dead. Yes, I remembered that black-haired lady stabbing me in the stomach earlier! I remember sinking to the bottom of these waters, but here I am, alive and in one piece! I raised my head up to look at my own stomach, and I could see the hole in my clothes where I was just stabbed earlier, but my skin was back to normal as if nothing really happened.

Hang on, I remember something else besides that… I remember seeing a weird, orange-looking orb-like object near the bottom of canal, but what was it?

Anyway, since I'm alive, I might as well continue my mission! Thank you God for letting me live! I stood up slowly, since I'm still a bit nauseous from being down in the water for so long… I supported myself on one knee and took a few more deep breaths to fully recompose myself. If I'm gonna go for a run again, I'll need to make sure I won't collapse on the ground anytime soon. I wiped the water off my face, but that was when I noticed something on my ring finger.

Since when did I get a ring?

I raised an eyebrow and gave it a closer look; it looked like a golden ring with weird linings all over it… and the center stone was… an orange-looking jewel? It was rectangular in shape and its color was really dark, and the orange tint was barely recognizable. Curiosity taking over me, I touched the center stone and then all of a sudden, it glowed brighter than before.

I had no idea what was going to happen, and out of natural instincts, I closed my eyes and waited for something to probably kick me in the ass or something. When I felt nothing for the next few seconds, I eventually opened my eyes. I quickly looked around to make sure if nothing was going to happen. I sighed in relief and finally stood up from the rocky shore.

Wait, I stood up?

That confused me. Wasn't I having difficulty to even move a muscle earlier? What the heck?! How the hell did my clothes become dry all of a sudden?! I tapped on my shirt and pants to check it for myself, and good God… I really am dry! But how?! I was soaking wet just a few moments earlier! Am I imagining things or what?!

By the way, I took off my armor as soon as I reached the shore. It was too heavy for me to carry, considering my strength is just about the same as an average guard.

I raised my hand to my forehead and took one deep breath to calm myself down. Heh, even my hair was dry now… I really have no idea what's going on right now… first, I pass out while listening to some good music then Mr. Daidara wakes me up and sends me on a suicide mission to chase some black-haired girl, and then I find this ring, and then I —

Wait. This ring… what?

I looked at the ring on my hand again only to find something weird happening with it. Earlier, the center jewel was dark orange, but now it wasn't. It looked… somehow brighter? The center stone was glowing, but luckily it wasn't too bright for me. And then all of a sudden, while I was still observing the damn thing, it went back to its original brightness.

Huh?

Is this some kind of magic ring or something? I'm getting creeped out for real… argh, forget about this! I still have a mission to do! Mr. Daidara gave me a mission, and I have to do it! That lady couldn't have gotten far, so I might be able to catch up to her! As a dedicated soldier for the empire, I must do my mission!

Ignoring all these strange happenings around me, I ran off and headed down the pathway not far from me at the left side. If I'm correct, this is where that lady ended up on and she took that road to escape. Oh, you're not getting away from me that easily! Like hell I'm gonna let this one shot I have in being acknowledged go to waste!

Wow…

It feels like I'm good as new! I think I can run for several miles with the energy I'm feeling right now! Woah, I just came out of the water earlier feeling weak as hell, but now I'm feeling unstoppable! Just you wait, lady… I'll bring you back to the ship in no time! I doubt that you can keep on running with everything that you had to go through.

But wait, is this because of this ring on my finger? Hang on, why am I not removing it? It's of no use to me, right?

Forget it, I'll deal with this matter later!

After only a few minutes of running at my absolute best, I finally saw someone in the distance. Hah! I told you lady, I'll catch up to you no matter what! I just have to call out to her to see if she could hear me.

"Lady! Stop right there!" I shouted, waving an arm to try and see if she'd react. Wait, can she even hear me? All I can see from my position is her shadow, so I'll need to get closer to have a better look at her.

Hang on… wait a minute… is she heading this way? Did she change her mind? I can totally see her figure in the distance, but a few seconds ago, I couldn't! Woah, since when did she get so fast?! She couldn't even swim faster than me while we were in the water, but how could she run so fast here?

Eh, maybe she was just fatigued or something…

I wave my arm again to try and appeal to her, to show that I mean no harm. "Lady, thank goodness! Because you listened, I'll forget about what you did to me earlier in the water! Shocking, right?! I'm still alive, when I'm supposed to be dead! Just stop right there, I'll go to you!"

Unfortunately, she didn't stop at all and continued to run towards me. "Hey, stop! No need for you to —" I stop myself from speaking as soon as I got a clear view of her features from afar.

Long hair? The one that I was chasing earlier did _not_ have her hair reaching down to her knees! Or did she? Was she wearing black as well? And since when did she have a necktie?! Argh, I'm so confused right now! I'll have to see for myself if it's really her!

We were within a few meters away from each other, so I finally had a good look at her. But I wasn't ready for what I just saw.

It seemed to me like the whole world suddenly went slow-motion as my eyes widened.

Skin as flawless as snow, hair as dark as ebony, and eyes as red as blood… I could feel my heart pounding furiously inside my chest as she turned her head to face me slightly. This… this… this is perfection! Can a girl as beautiful as this woman even exist in this world?! Her face… I have never met someone as beautiful as her… not even in my village! This woman is more beautiful than all of them! W-What is this feeling in my chest? I feel like I'm being hypnotized or just feeling dazed by the mere sight of this mysterious girl…

I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks when I saw what she was wearing. I stopped in my tracks upon seeing the dress she wore… it was… it was skimpy enough to give me or any other man an erection! I could definitely see her legs… those thighs… my jaw slowly fell open and I could feel my own saliva trickling down the side of my mouth.

Her belt… the tie she was wearing… her… arm guards… and a side skirt… they were all red! Goodness, was red her favorite color?!

I think red just became my favorite color as well.

I was left frozen at my place, staring at the girl as she glanced at me one last time before finally running off. For a brief moment, my mission was not in my mind, nor my dream of being acknowledged by other people.

After a few moments of being left dumbfounded, I shook my head and smiled to myself. "Wow, what a beautiful girl… I wonder if she's from around here?" I said to myself. I know one thing, though. She's definitely not the girl I'm supposed to be chasing… that's a relief. I thought I'm gonna have to capture a girl as beautiful as her and bring her back to the ship.

Well, that's enough ogling. I wiped my mouth and took a deep breath. I need to get back to my mission. That girl was beautiful and I would surely love to meet her again, but I have a mission to complete.

However, just when I took a step forward, I felt my head suddenly screaming in pain as I fell to my knees. I grabbed the top of my head with both my hands as I screamed out in agony. This was too much! Why am I having a headache all of a sudden?! I then lost feeling of my own arms and legs, feeling like jelly at the moment.

"GRRRAAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!" What's going on with me?! I fell on all fours, panting like a dog as the pain slowly subsided. I dug my nails into the ground to try and resist it, biting my lower lip as I noticed the ring on my hand glowing once again. My eyes narrowed as I gritted my teeth.

There's something going on with me, and it has something to do with this damn ring!

I hissed loudly, surviving the pain that washed through my entire body. Once I could feel it leave, I let my head slam down on the ground, panting in exhaustion. I could There was nothing in my mind except for one thing.

No, one person.

All I could think about at the moment was the mysterious girl I have just encountered. How beautiful she was, how sexy she looked like, how intimidating she was, and how perfect she is! She was like an angel sent from heaven! And now… she just… ran away… and left.

This isn't good… I need to know more about her.

I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HER!

"Who… was that?" I said in between my breaths, looking back at the road she just ran through.

* * *

 _ **OC Info card:**_

 _ **Name: Ren Ozaki**_

 _ **Age: 19 years old**_

 _ **Place of Origin: Mountain Village**_

 _ **Height: 5'6**_

 _ **Weight: 48 kg**_

 _ **Hair Color: Dark Red**_

 _ **Eye Color: Blue**_

 _ **Blood Type: A+**_

 _ **Teigu: Bane of Amaterasu: Taiyōki**_

 _ **-Ren Ozaki is a young teenager sent by his family to join the Empire's forces as a way to 'teach him on how to be a fighter'. Shunned by his whole family, friends, and the people in his village at a young age, he hopes to make a great impact in the Capital to finally earn him the acknowledgement of his peers, loved ones, and acquaintances.**_

 _ **-Ren is a young man with wavy red hair that framed the sides of his face, while being regularly combed to the left side, allowing his bangs to be shown. He has deep blue eyes and a fair complexion, leading to him being referred to as 'handsome' by some of his female peers. He is commonly seen wearing his Imperial Guard uniform, but whenever he is off duty, he wears a high-collared black jacket with a white shirt underneath, along with dark brown pants and black shoes. His teigu is located on his right hand's ring finger**_

 _ **-He is honorable, humble, and is willing to put his life on the line for a mission. Ren is also caring and kind hearted to the people he cares about. His determination and will to continue is extremely high that he is able to avoid and survive near-death situations every time. He believes that every human must be equal, which is why he doesn't resort to violence most of the time, preferring to solve a problem by means of words.**_

 **KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!**

 _ **Ren's teigu Info card:**_

 _ **Full name: Bane of Amaterasu: Taiyōki**_

 _ **Form: Ring Teigu**_

 _ **Abilities:**_

 _ **Pyrokinesis/Fire Manipulation - Allows user can create, shape and manipulate fire in a variety of ways. Depending on the substances alight, and the user's feelings, the color of the flame and the fire's intensity will vary.**_

 _ **Immunity to Fire - Grants user immunity to fire/heat, being completely invulnerable to direct and indirect effects, although the specific limit of this power is unknown.**_

 _ **Fire Absorption - Allows the user to absorb fire, while removing it from the original source, into their body and use it in various ways, gaining an advantage by enhancing themselves, using it as a power source, etc. This ability is temporary until the moment the absorbed fire is used.**_

 _ **Healing fire - The user can heal himself or others by using flames/fire/heat. Can be nullified if there is no source, lack of power, the environment, or if the enemy can negate fire itself.**_

 _ **Pyrokinetic flight - The user can fly, glide and/or levitate through manipulation of fire. They can fly at varying speeds, levitate, or propel themselves without taking flight, including jumping long distances by a short burst of flight.**_

 _ **Heat Generation - The user can increase the kinetic energy of atoms by simply touching an object, changing the temperature from drastically low, to absolute high. May cause harm to others if uncontrolled.**_

 _ **Breath of Fire - The breath of fire involves the user creating fire out of his or her mouth, mixing air from the lungs with the flame, creating a wider, hotter blast. Can be used to instantaneously warm the body under frigid conditions.**_

 _ **Side effect: ?**_

 _ **Trump Card: ?**_

* * *

 _ **So now, we have a new character joining the fray. How will this new OC affect the story?! He seems like a strong dude, not to mention that his teigu is freakin' awesome! Things are heating up for our heroes! (No pun intended)**_

 _ **Sayo managed to find Tatsumi, Akame and Seryu and now they're headed back to the ship! Can they reach Bulat and Sheele in time to save them?**_

 _ **Kurome has made her debut, and she is heading to capital to join the Jaegers! Yay!**_

 _ **What's this? Ren Ozaki met Akame? I wonder where this would lead to…**_

 _ **Harem: Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Sheele, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	13. Kill the Mourn

"Normal Talking **"**

 _"Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters…**_

* * *

"Are you sure it's this way?!" Tatsumi asked, zooming through the air above the Grand Canal using his teigu, with Sayo clinging on his back. "You could have lost your sense of direction while you were swimming in the water.

"I'm positive! Just… the moment you see a big ship, that's our landing point!" Sayo said, fighting back tears. "It's been… more than an hour since I left them… I hope they're all right… I hope nothing bad happened to them…"

"Don't feel bad, Sayo!" Tatsumi exclaimed, glancing behind him. "I know we'll get to them! Sheele and Aniki are strong, and they can hold out! Just have faith in —" before he could say anything more, his childhood friend pointed to a ship down below, causing him to turn his head as well.

"There's the ship! Quick, drop us near the back of the damn thing!" she said, shaking his body slightly, showing her worry for their two comrades whom she left behind.

"Okay, I'm setting us down!" he announced, descending from the air before landing on the upper deck. Sayo let go of him as soon as her feet touched the wooden surface, while the bright light that coated the two of them dissipated into thin air. "There… now that we're here, we should — Oh shit." Tatsumi's breath hitched upon greeting the sight in front of him. Sayo fell to her knees and covered her mouth a to stifle a gasp.

The ship was an absolute mess, because what once was supposed to be a party, turned out to be a catastrophe. No doubt that a battle had taken place here, which would be the cause of all this destruction. There was wreckage everywhere, wooden boards scattered all over the whole deck, yet there were no civilians in sight. It could be they were either slaughtered, or they managed to escape the ship just in time. There was also no sign of Bulat, Sheele around them, nor their enemies, making the ship look like a ghost town in its entirety.

"Oh no…" Sayo mumbled to herself through her tears before she stood up and began calling out for her friends. "Bulat! Sayo! Where are you? I'm here with Tatsumi! Like I said, I'll come back for you two! We're here to help!" she screamed out, walking around the whole deck with the brunette following closely behind her, observing the ship himself. "Bulat! Sayo! Please answer —!"

The two of them saw it.

Near the ship's bow, at the center of whole vehicle, laid Bulat and Sheele. Both was lying on his back, while Sheele was leaning against his stomach, her glasses just beside her in broken shards. The two assassins were both covered in blood, and Bulat didn't seem like he was moving anymore. Sheele had her hands on top of her stomach, as if she was already dead. Both were filled with bruises and covered with blood, making it even more horrifying for the two childhood friends.

The dark-haired girl had to cover her mouth to suppress her scream of terror while Tatsumi couldn't stop himself. "SHEELE?! ANIKI?! WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED HERE?!" he shouted out as Sayo ran down the stairs to head towards their comrades. Tatsumi was frozen in his place for a few more seconds before heading down the staircase himself, following Sayo as she knelt on her knees by Sheele's side.

Sayo leaned her head closer towards the purple-haired woman's chest, and a slight smile appeared on her face when she heard a faint heartbeat just as Tatsumi knelt down beside her. "Sheele?! Please! Please wake up! You're not dead yet, you're gonna live! Please wake up!"

When Tatsumi noticed that Sayo's screams were not working at all, he grabbed Sheele's right arm and pressed on a few of her nerve endings that he could feel through her skin. Since he also had experience and knowledge in the medical field, Tatsumi could at least keep her alive until they get back to the hideout. " _Come on, let this work… let this work…"_ he thought to himself.

After he pressed about 13 nerves in her arms, Sheele's body shook slightly for a quick second before the purple-haired woman coughed a few times, showing that she really was alive.

"Sheele! You're alive!" Sayo cheered on, smiling through her tears before she turned towards Tatsumi, who had his hand on his forehead in relief. "Thank you, Tatsumi! Thank you!" she said, quickly leaning over to kiss her childhood friend on the cheek, an action which caught him off guard and caused him to blush slightly in embarrassment.

The _**Extase**_ user slowly opened her eyes; since she didn't have her glasses on, she could hardly see. However, she knew her friends enough to tell them by their clothing and hair, that she managed to figure out who was sitting on either side of her, "T-Tatsumi? Sayo?" she called out weakly.

"Yes, it's us." Sayo answered, sniffling lightly to suppress her incoming tears. "Sheele, what happened here? Why are you and Bulat like this? Who did this to you?" she asked.

"Those men we fought earlier… they… were… too strong…" she answered slowly, feeling her own self becoming weaker and weaker by the moment. "One of them… stole _**Extase**_ from… me and… Bulat… said he'd… p-protect me… he managed to kill… only one of… them… the others… escaped with… _**Extase**_ …" she then stopped in her words, coughing up blood into her own clothes.

"Sheele, don't worry! We'll be taking you and Bulat back to the hideout! You're gonna be okay!"

"It's no… use…" Sheele said sadly, turning her head so she could look at Bulat's face. "He's… already… gone… he died… while… trying to protect… me…"

"What? N-No! T-T-That can't be! He can't be dead! Y-You're joking, right? Bulat is… he just can't —" before she could continue with her words, Tatsumi cut her off.

"Sheele's right." he said with his hair shadowing his eyes, earning Sayo's attention as he held out two fingers and touch the bottom of Bulat's jawline. "Aniki's gone… I can't feel his pulse." Tatsumi wanted nothing more than to go back to his bedroom and pray that this was all a horrible nightmare, but he had to be strong for someone else.

"No…" Sayo muttered, tears stinging her eyes again as she wept in front of Sheele. "This can't be! Damn it!" she shrieked, slamming her fist on the wooden surface of the upper deck repeatedly. "This is all my fault… if I wasn't so slow… I could've gotten back here on time! I could've saved you two… I'm nothing! I'm nothing but a failure!"

"Sayo…" muttered Sheele, causing the dark-haired girl to look up, her face streaked with tears. "It's not… your fault… I know that… Bulat would be… happy… because you… you're safe…" She then coughed up blood again, and Tatsumi had to pat her back from underneath to help her.

"Sheele," Tatsumi called out. The purple-haired woman turned her eyes to him as he leaned down and stared at her. "We may haven't been able to save Bulat, but we can still save you. Come on, I can fly you back to the mainland." he said, holding her by the back and under her knees before he tried carrying her up, which only got Sheele to hiss in pain as a result.

Tatsumi, alarmed at the sudden sound that she made, set her back down on the deck, letting her head lean on Bulat's stomach again. It was then at this moment, Sheele's hands fell down to her sides, revealing a gaping hole in her stomach. The brunette's eyes widened while Sayo couldn't stop herself from gasping in horror. "Sheele!" he cried out. "Y-You…"

"I'm not… going to last… much longer… Tatsumi…" she said with a small smile. "I'm glad… that… in the end… I could be useful…" she closed her eyes and remembered the memories she made with Night Raid over the years. "Night Raid… is where… I truly belonged… and I'll never… forget… the memories… we made… even if I… die…"

"Sheele… you were one of my closest friends in Night Raid… I swear to you… on my life, I will hunt those three bastards down… and I will avenge you and Bulat!" Sayo muttered, leaning down to hug her purple-haired comrade as she sobbed louder than over. As of this point, she knew that there was nothing that could be done to change what was happening in front of them, so she had no choice but to cherish their last moments together. During her time in Night Raid so far, Sheele was one of the closest friends that Sayo had, next to Mine.

Damn those three men for taking her away this early.

Sheele sent Sayo a quick smile before she looked up at Tatsumi again. "Hey, Tatsumi…" she called out, and the brunette looked surprised for a bit before speaking up. Right now, he was doing his best to stay strong and act as an emotional wall for Sayo to lean on later, but little did he know that it would soon break down.

"Y-Yeah?" he replied, listening to Sheele's every word.

"C-Come here…" she said, weakly motioning for him to lean down towards her. Sayo reluctantly let go of her friend and moved away, wanting to give the two assassins some space because she could tell that this was important.

Tatsumi didn't know what was going to happen, but he knew better than not to comply with what a dying friend wanted, so he leaned down closer to her. "Sheele, what are you —" he was then cut off when he felt something soft pressing against his own lips, and his eyes widened to the size of saucers upon noticing that Sheele, the purple-haired airhead of Night Raid, was kissing him.

Using every last bit of her remaining strength, Sheele's arm went to the back of Tatsumi's head on pulled him down further, intensifying their kiss and allowing the girl to pour out all her love and passion into this one move. Tatsumi was too shocked to even do anything for the first seconds, but out of instinct, he began to kiss Sheele back, cupping the girl's cheek and returning it with just as much passion.

However, just when he was becoming happier with what was happening, Sheele intentionally pulled away with a smile on her face. Tatsumi looked at her with a dumbfounded expression, before his finger went up, touching his lips in complete disbelief with what just happened. Did Sheele, the glasses-wearing airhead in the hideout, seriously kiss him?

"Sheele… w-what does this mean?" he slowly asked, feeling his inner walls start to break down because of the angst he was feeling all of a sudden. He surprisingly felt the urge to punch himself and cry right now because of it. "A-Are you —?"

"I don't… know… much about… r-relationships… but… whenever I was… with you… I felt… I felt happier, Tatsumi…" she cut him off, her eyes watering as tears fell down the side of her face. "I felt… something weird inside… inside me… whenever I… I'm with you… I don't… know if I'm right… but… I think… I think I love you, Tatsumi!" she said with a smile on her face.

Tatsumi's eyes widened as he began to tear up.

"But… I'm sorry… that I won't… be with… you, anymore… I would have… loved to… stay… with all of you… and be one… big… happy… f-f-family…" her eyesight became even blurrier than before, signaling her impending end, as she flashed one last smile and drew her last breath, her eyes closing ever so slowly. "Live… and… continue… Night Raid's… mission… for… me… I l-love y…"

"Sheele?" Tatsumi asked, feeling as if he was an idiot who had been blind to the truth all along. "Sheele, come back. Please come back to us, okay? Sheele, it's okay to wake up now… please? Sheele? Sheele?" his fists then clenched tightly as Sayo rushed to hug him, burying her face into his chest as she knew what was going to happen next.

"SHEELE!" Tatsumi cried out, his walls finally breaking down as his tears flowed out of his eyes openly, crying over the loss of his comrade, whom he never knew had feelings for him. "SHEELE! SHEELE!" he continued to cry out as him and Sayo held onto each other for dear life, comforting each other with their presence. "Sheele…" he weakly mumbled, sniffling heavily as his own tears clouded his vision.

" _I won't let Sheele and Aniki's deaths be in vain!"_ he thought to himself, making a determined expression through his weeping. " _I'll find the ones responsible for this and give them my own personal welcome to hell! I don't care how many they are or how powerful they seem to be… I swear I'll kill them all!"_

So much for being an emotional wall.

 **(Three Hours Later; Night Raid's Hidden Base)**

"I don't like this… they should have been back by now. What if something had happened to them?" Akame said, pacing back and forth across the meeting room in slight impatience.

The sun was already down, yet Tatsumi and Sayo still had to return, along with Bulat and Sheele. All of Night Raid's other members were gathered in the meeting room, waiting for their remaining members to return. However, they were supposed to be back hours prior because Akame and Seryu clearly remembered that Tatsumi would be going back for them, yet they received no word about a possible delay. This left the two girls no choice but to head back to the hideout after an hour because the Boss would start wondering why they were taking too long. Upon returning, they told the other members what happened and for the past hours, they have done nothing but sit and wait for Tatsumi, Sayo, Bulat, and Sheele to return.

Akame believed in her heart that Tatsumi was okay and that nothing happened to him since he was arguably one of the strongest members of Night Raid as of the moment and he had already proved that several times, but that didn't stop her from worrying. It wasn't for less, since Akame had become so attached to him, she didn't want anything bad happening to Tatsumi.

Finally reaching her limit, she flashed a serious look. "I'm going to go look for them." Grabbing _**Murasame**_ , Akame headed for the door. However, she was stopped when a hand grabbed her shoulder firmly.

"You need have faith in him, Akame." Leone said with a sigh as she pulled Akame back into the room. "You two have been training together everyday, and you know just how strong Tatsumi is."

"I know… but I can't help but worry." Akame said, hanging her head in shame for doubting her love of his abilities. "How can you not worried about him, Leone?"

"Never said I wasn't." Leone replied with a shrug, crossing her arms over her chest. "I get worried every time Tatsumi goes on a mission, to be honest. I know how strong he is, and how determined he can be to finish his job, but there's like a voice in my head telling me that he might not make it…" Leone released a light sigh and smiled at Akame. "But I know our man is strong, and I believe he'll stay alive. He'll always come back to us, through hell and high water. He won't leave us, Akame."

"Yeah, I helped train him, you know." Mine chimed in with a smug grin, placing her hands on her hip. "I don't train losers, so you damn sure better believe he's gonna come back. Besides, he is way too fast for our own good… if anything, he must be flying towards here, right now… pissing us off with a damn detour." Mine would never admit it, but she was actually getting worried more and more for Tatsumi by the moment.

Like Akame, she knew just how strong Tatsumi was, but she couldn't help but worry. After all, Tatsumi was a human like them, and he can still get hurt or injured anytime he was reckless or even blind to see an attack on him. Furthermore, it's not _Tatsumi-like_ to do anything else while he was on a mission. Normally, he'd go out and fulfill his objective before returning, and the only time that he actually did something other than his mission was when he recruited Seryu in their group.

"It won't do us any good to worry, Akame." Najenda said as she took a small drag of her cigarette. "However, if they're not back within the next hour I'll send you and Leone to search for them."

"Thank you boss…" Akame said, bowing her head slightly to hide the look of worry on her face. "That makes me feel a lot better."

"Hm? What's this?" Lubbock muttered, which got everyone's attention almost immediately. "I've got something on my wires."

"Is it an enemy?" Najenda asked before stomping on her cigarette.

"I have no idea." Lubbock replied, trying to track the possible intruder. "But they're coming in from the North, using the forest… it's moving fast, and then it became slow again… it's like… it's moving in a cycle. It seems like it's… two people? Wait, there are three of them… no, damn it… it became two again!" he said, confusing everyone and himself with what was happening with his own wires. "Well, whoever they are, it's either they can't see the wires or they aren't worried about trippin' on them, because they've stepped on just about every single one in their path."

"Alright then…" Najenda muttered, her eyes narrowing as she rested her head on her fist. "Akame, Leone, and Lubbock, you three go out and intercept this intruder. Mine, you will need to keep your distance and provide overwatch in case this leads to open conflict."

"Yes, Boss!" everyone said in unison.

"Okay, now you know what to do! Everyone, move out!" the Boss ordered, as everyone raced out of the room to face this unknown intruder.

 **(Three Minutes Later; Forest North of Night Raid's Base)**

"Where is the target, Lubbock?" Akame asked, leading the trio of Night Raid assassins through the forest. "We must be getting close to their location by now."

"We're getting close… very close." Lubbock replied, jumping over a fallen tree. "As a matter of fact, the intruder is just up ahead."

As the group of assassins burst through another set of trees in front of them, they were treated to a sight that they were not expecting. All three of them already had their eyes widened in shock at what they were seeing and from afar, Mine could be seen lowering her teigu down because she was in disbelief.

In front of them stood Sayo and Tatsumi, both looked like a mess and they looked exhausted as hell, because of how they were panting as if they had just completed a marathon. What shocked the trio of Night Raid assassins even more was that Tatsumi and Sayo were both carrying the lifeless bodies of Bulat and Sheele on their backs, respectively. A few seconds later, Tatsumi let out a short scream of pain before falling to his knees, causing Bulat's body to roll to his side.

"Tatsumi!" Acting out of instinct, Akame dashed forward and knelt down, holding the brunette by his shoulders as she immediately checked him for injuries before bombarding him with a flurry of questions. "What happened?! Why didn't you come back for us?! What happened in the ship?! Why are you and Sayo carrying Sheele and Bulat?!"

The young man slowly looked up from the ground as his eyes locked on with Akame's, his face clearly showing his sadness. "We were too late." he muttered in a voice loud enough for everyone present to hear.

Those four words were enough to send the message to everyone there as Leone slowly approached Sayo with a look of horror on her face, upon seeing Sheele's lifeless body on the dark-haired girl's back. "W-What do you mean?" she asked in a nervous tone. "Does this mean… Bulat… and Sheele… they —!"

Sayo looked up at the busty blonde and slowly shook her head, her tears openly flowing out her eyes once again as she let go of Sheele's arms, allowing the purple-haired girl to roll towards Bulat, the two fallen assassins lying side-by-side on the ground.

"Oh, Tatsumi…" Akame said as she hugged her lover to her chest tightly, while also preventing her own tears from coming out. She turned away from the scene, not wanting to see it anymore; throughout her lifetime, the red-eyed girl had said goodbye to many of her friends and loved ones, but never has she experienced two losses at the same time. As soon as Tatsumi heard Akame sniffle, he immediately wrapped his arms around her, both of them offering comfort to one another.

"God dammit…" Leone growled as she stomped away to the side, punching and kicking down multiple trees in her path out of anger and frustration.

"Hey, what the hell is going on here?!" said Mine, arriving at the scene with _**Pumpkin**_ slung over her shoulder. Lubbock, who was just standing frozen a few meters away from Tatsumi and the others out of pure shock and too overwhelmed to even react to what was happening, turned to look at the pinkette.

"Mine…" he called out in a low tone.

"Lubbock, what's going on here?" she asked with her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

The green-haired man did not choose to respond with words; instead, he shakily pointed to what was in front of him as a sad look took over his face. Mine followed where his finger was pointing, and she was met by the sight of Tatsumi and Akame hugging each other, Sayo crying her eyes out, and Bulat and Sheele lying on the ground.

"W-What is this?!" Mine exclaimed, feeling shock take over her immediately upon seeing two of her comrades on the ground, with no signs of life.

"Bulat and Sheele…" he muttered, looking back at the scene in front of him. "They didn't make it."

Mine stood frozen in her place for a few seconds, letting Lubbock's words sink into her very soul before she rushed over towards the others, grieving just like how the most of them did.

* * *

 **(Two Days Later; Night Raid's Hidden Base)**

A few days have passed ever since Bulat and Sheele's tragic deaths, and Night Raid's members were still recovering from the loss of their beloved comrades. But since they were assassins, they couldn't ignore their original job.

So even with two of their members gone, life went on in the hideout. But, things weren't exactly the same as they were, and it is likely that it would never be the same again.

There had been a small funeral for Sheele and Bulat the day after their deaths, and their graves were set just outside the hideout. Bulat's _**Incursio**_ was found lying next to him at the Dragon Ship, and when Tatsumi had brought it back, Najenda announced that she would be sending it to the Revolutionary Army HQ the next time she heads there. However, Tatsumi made it clear that _**Extase**_ was stolen from Sheele, so they had no idea where it was.

Sayo had spent day and night inside her bedroom, scarred with guilt with what had happened to her two friends. She only went outside her room to either eat or take a bath, since she was too busy blaming her own self what happened to Bulat and Sheele. Najenda was getting worried for the poor girl, because this might be the first time that she has experienced a loss while being in this line of work, and this could affect her at a personal level when they receive another mission.

Good thing the Boss knew what to do, as she secretly ordered that certain somebody to watch over Sayo and keep her from doing anything rash.

 _"I can't believe she's really gone… her and Bulat… it just seems… so unfair…"_ Tatsumi thought, his emerald eyes were filled with sadness as he chopped up a big slab of meat for lunch. His mind then went back to that scene on the ship, where Sheele confessed her feelings for him before eventually passing away. _"Damn it… I can't do anything to change what happened… but I can avenge her and Aniki! I'm sorry, Sheele… if you were still here, Akame and Leone would be glad to have you in our family… but we can be one… for you."_

"Damn it!" Tatsumi released a light sigh when he heard Mine sneeze from behind him. The pinkette had been suffering from high fever ever since last night, resulting her in wearing a pink jacket right now and it greatly bothered her because she won't be able to go out on missions if she was like this. It was probably because she had been letting out her anger at the shooting range yesterday, wherein she might have pushed herself too far in handling her rage and thirst for revenge against those who killed Bulat and Sheele. Not to mention, the weather recently has been nothing but cold in the capital.

"Why did this have to happen to me?!" she complained, pouting cutely.

"Here you go, Mine." Akame said, setting down a bowl of hot chicken soup on the table for the pink-haired sniper to eat.

"I don't need to eat that." Mine said as she let out an annoyed huff, pushing the bowl away. "This'll probably go away by tomorrow… I already took in some medicine."

"I know that you're not in your best mood right now, but it's starting to get cold… and Tatsumi made this just for you." Akame said in a sympathetic tone, giving the bowl back towards Mine. At the mention of her crush's name, the pink-haired sniper glanced at Tatsumi then back at the chicken soup in front of her.

 _"Tatsumi… made this for me?"_ Mine thought as happiness filled her heart as it pounded inside her chest. " _Even if… I didn't ask him to… he went out of his way… to make me something? GAH! I'm so embarrassed right now! W-What do I even do?!"_ Sighing in defeat, Mine leaned forward and grabbed the spoon beside the bowl, and a faint smile could be seen on her mouth if looked upon at a closer view. "All right, all right! I'll eat it…"

"Well, Tatsumi will be happy that you decided to eat." Akame said with a small smile, heading back to the kitchen to continue cooking.

 _"Even though two of our comrades was killed… Akame acts as cool and collected as before as if nothing happened…"_ Tatsumi thought, watching his girlfriend chop up some vegetables behind him out of the corner of his eye. _"But I know she's hurting on the inside… everyone is… when me and Sayo returned that day, I could tell that she was about to cry. When we're alone, Akame rarely leaves my side… and when we sleep together, I'm the one who'll have to hold her because I could feel her trembling in bed… and Leone's taken this pretty bad as well… she stopped sneaking into my room in the morning and pretends to look happy… but then at night, she tries to drown her troubles out by drinking…"_ Tatsumi's grip on the knife handle tightened as he flashed a look of determination. " _I won't stop here… I swear I'll find the ones responsible for this… and I'll_ — _!"_ he was then cut off when he felt something wrap around his stomach from behind him.

He immediately turned around and his eyes widened upon seeing Mine hugging him, blushing as she nuzzled her face against his white sweater. "M-Mine?! What are you doing?!" he exclaimed with a blush, shocked with what she was doing.

Slowly, the pinkette let go of him as she looked up to meet his gaze. "Thank you for… making that soup for me…" she breathed out, a heavy blush appearing on her face. "It really helped me and I feel somewhat better now… I'm sorry, you might be thinking it's reckless of me to… have fever right now and I —" before she could speak any further, Tatsumi cut her off.

"Don't worry about it Mine, hehe…" he replied in an embarrassed tone, rubbing the back of his head. "I noticed that you were letting out some serious stress yesterday, and when I heard that you had a fever, I got worried… so I thought of making you something that would make you feel better! I… I hope that you liked it, though. That recipe was taught to me while I was still at the village…"

Unfortunately for him, Mine stopped listening to him after she heard that he was worried about her.

" _He… He was worried about me? Oh my gosh, I never thought he'd be this kind to do something like this for me! It's definitely what I needed! I'm really feeling better now… no, wait! GAH! W-Why does this idiot even care about me?! Who cares if he made me soup?! It's not like I liked it or anything…"_ she then shook her head violently and pointed her finger accusingly towards Tatsumi's face.

"Mine?" he asked in confusion, wondering why she was pointing at him.

"I-It's not like I asked you to make that soup for me, but I'll thank you at the least!" she said with a heavy blush, before she remembered that she just hugged him moments earlier. "A-And don't get the wrong idea! T-That hug e-earlier was just to get your attention because you were too busy chopping!" she finished, hiding her face from him so he wouldn't have to see her beet-red face.

"H-Huh?" he replied, sweat-dropping.

"W-Well, I'm off to my room to get some rest! I-I'll come out b-by lunch!" she huffed, quickly marching out of the kitchen with her arms crossed and her face red in embarrassment.

Tatsumi was left in his place, staring at Mine as she left. " _Hmm, I know that Mine is caring, kind, and sweet sometimes, but that hug earlier… totally beats all of that…"_ he thought to himself as he remembered what just happened about a minute ago. " _Her face was all red earlier… and she seemed embarrassed to talk to me… could it be that —?"_ he shook his head before laughing in nervousness. " _No, that's impossible… Mine doesn't like me in that way… r-right?"_

All of a sudden, Tatsumi once again felt something wrap around his stomach, this time it was tighter than before and it almost seemed like he was choked out of his air. He turned his head around slowly to see Akame nuzzling against his back with a cute look (her usual appearance in awkward situations) as she hugged Tatsumi even tighter.

"A-A-A-Akame! What… are you… doing?!" he asked, struggling to speak through the tight embrace she gave him, before he gritted his teeth when he felt Akame tighten her grasp on him.

"I want a hug too." she said in her usual monotone voice.

"I'll h-hug you all… you want, just… OWW! Get back to cooking!" he said, feeling some of his ribs crack as he screamed in pain afterwards.

 **(That Night; Night Raid's Hidden Base)**

"Damn it, looks like I forgot to drink some water before going to bed." Tatsumi muttered to himself, walking through the base's quiet hallways to head for the kitchen. The young assassin glanced out the window, looking at the falling snow. Tatsumi began rubbing his hands together to keep himself warm. _"Man, I wonder why Akame didn't sleep in my bed tonight? Not that I'm forcing her or anything but I've gotten used to it that I usually wake up next to her…"_ However, just as Tatsumi entered the kitchen he was surprised to someone else already there.

"Akame?" he asked with a surprised tone, seeing Akame holding a plate of dango and sushi near the window. "Planning a little midnight snack?"

"No…" Akame replied solemnly, as she stared down at the sweets on her plate. "These...were Sheele's and… Bulat's favorite…" _**(A/N: I have no idea what Bulat's favorite food is, but let's just imagine this for the story)**_

 _"I see… it must be an offering…"_ Tatsumi thought, lightly sighing as he remembered the horrible events a few days ago. _"I still can't believe that those two are gone… especially Sheele. I feel bad for not being able to spend time with her some more… if we did… we could've been…"_

"We're assassins, and we operate in the shadows..." Akame said, releasing a light sigh. "So Sheele likely won't be in any of the Revolutionary Army's records, which means she won't be receiving any recognition for everything that she has done. Bulat… he's quite famous in the capital… but it won't be enough for him to get remembered." The red-eyed girl's grip on the plate suddenly tightened. "I'm going to remember them even if no one else do. She was an airhead, yes… but she was most likely, the kindest person out of all of us. Bulat is compassionate and friendly, and his fire in battle is somewhat an inspiration to everyone here."

"I know. And I won't forget them as well." Tatsumi said, a smile spreading across his face as an image of Sheele and his Aniki appeared in his mind. "I see her in my room sometimes, praying for Ieyasu and she comforted me at a time when I needed it the most. Aniki helped me train just like you did, and I was able to grow stronger than before… he was also the first one to welcome me officially in Night Raid."

"I'm glad that I am not alone in this." the girl said, forcing back a sob.

"You know, Akame…" Tatsumi said, noticing that she was somehow trembling. "There's no one else here… so you don't have to act calm and tough anymore… I won't judge you in any way, so you can cry if you want to. It's all right."

Akame's eyes widened momentarily before tears started to stream down her cheeks as she closed her eyes. The sound of the red-eyed assassin's plate shattering on the floor filled the kitchen as Akame embraced Tatsumi in a tight hug, before sobbing like hell into his chest.

"I've seen… so many people… die…" Akame said in between sobs. Tatsumi wrapped his arms around Akame's back and held her close, resting his chin on top of her head. "But… I just lost more of my precious comrades! I'll never get used to this pain! It was already bad enough whenever I lose one of the people I care about, and a few days ago, it decided to make its mark deeper inside me… when Bulat… and Sheele died!" she then paused for a moment to recompose herself.

" _Akame…"_ he thought to himself, closing his eyes as he cradled his beloved slightly.

"It's so hard sometimes Tatsumi… I want to cry… I want to let this all out… I want to mourn our friends more… but I can't let my feelings affect me on our next mission! So I have to put on a strong face in front of everyone! We work in the shadows… so, if we can't handle losses like this… then we're going to die!" Akame's voice suddenly dropped to a low whisper as she gripped his shirt tightly. "But… if you were to die, Tatsumi… I don't know what I'd do. I don't think I could go on if I had to bury you too!"

* * *

Unbeknownst to the two of them, a certain pink-haired sniper was making her way towards the kitchen, holding her pillow with her right arm as she rubbed her eyes and yawned cutely.

" _Oh, why did I have to be thirsty at this time of night?"_ Mine thought to herself before she shivered at the coldness of the atmosphere around her, causing her to hug her own self to keep warm. " _Geez, it's so cold tonight… my fever is already going down, damn it… and I'm still so sleepy… hmm, I wonder if Tatsumi is awake? It feels so nice and warm hugging him earlier, and I think I could get a good night's sleep with him without having any bad dreams or anything…"_

Mine then blushed heavily upon realizing her own words as her cheeks turned into a deep shade of red, before she shook her head over and over, releasing a sigh of defeat afterwards.

" _Fine, fine… if he's awake and he's somehow in the kitchen, I'll go ask him… but if not, then I'll go to his room and try asking him there or something…"_ she huffed, touching her own cheeks with her hands. " _Oh God, this is gonna be the most embarrassing thing I'm gonna do in my life… but… at least Tatsumi would understand me and my situation… right?"_

The pinkette must be having good luck right now; when she finally reached the kitchen, she saw Tatsumi standing just by the window, causing a smile to break out on her face. Or was she having bad luck _and_ timing at the same time?

The girl immediately stepped out of the room and peeked from the outside when she saw Akame talking with Tatsumi while she was holding a plate. " _What could they be talking about at this hour? I know eavesdropping is bad, but I'm gonna have to listen closely!"_ she thought to herself, quirking an eyebrow in curiosity.

* * *

"Akame, look at me…" Tatsumi said, cupping Akame's cheeks so that she could look up at him. The young assassin smiled as he wiped the tears from Akame's eyes with his thumbs. "I promise you that I won't die. I swear, I will never let any of our comrades die again! I'll grow even stronger than before to protect everyone! I'll never make you mourn me!"

"Tatsumi…" Akame breathed out, feeling her heart thrashing around in her chest. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes again, but she managed to hold them back them this time. Smiling up at Tatsumi, Akame pulled him in for a deep and passionate kiss.

* * *

Mine's eyes widened in shock upon seeing Akame and her crush lean in and kiss each other and it almost caused her to gasp out loudly, but she managed to slap her hand over her mouth. " _D-D-D-D-Did Tatsumi and Akame j-j-just k-k-kiss?!"_ she thought to herself, taking a few steps back before she fell on her butt but luckily, she landed on her own pillow. Out of fear that she might get caught, she grabbed her pillow and crawled away quickly and leaned on the wall, still covering her mouth.

" _W-What the heck did I just see?"_ she said to herself, suddenly feeling an intense wave of sadness wash over her. " _Hey, why am I feeling sad and bothered by this? T-Tatsumi can like who he wants, so what if he likes Akame?! They can be together if they want to!"_ Her words only became the opposite of her actions when a tear rolled down her cheek.

" _Oh, who am I kidding?"_ she thought, burying her face into her arms as she rested them atop her knees to muffle her sniffling. She wasn't crying, as she was doing her best to prevent her tears from coming out. She didn't want to be seen as a child. " _He... He... Tatsumi liked Akame all along, didn't he? Well… even I can see just how... close they were to each other... these past few weeks... no, it's not his fault for not noticing me… maybe I was too hard on him when he joined us… Oh God dammit… I really… would've wanted… to sleep with him tonight…"_

* * *

Akame wrapped her arms around his neck and poured in her happiness into their liplock, showing her reaction to his words. When the assassins separated, Akame looked at Tatsumi with eyes full of emotion, smiling through her dry tears. "I love you, Tatsumi."

"I love you too, Akame." Tatsumi said, pressing Akame's head against his chest and she simply closed her eyes to enjoy their sweet moment. "When the time comes… we'll finally win this war and welcome a new age together… with everyone smiling around us. I promise you that."

"Yeah." Akame said, separating from him as she nodded her head.

"If you want Akame, we can sleep together tonight." Tatsumi said, locking eyes with his lover.

"No, I'm fine Tatsumi…" she said, shaking her head. "I'll go on ahead to your bedroom and get some sleep first. There's… someone else that you should be comforting tonight."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Tatsumi asked in confusion, raising an eyebrow. The young man was surprised when Akame started picking up the shattered pieces of the plate that she dropped earlier, before setting them on the table as she walked out of the kitchen.

"You'll find out once you get there." Akame said, as she stopped in the doorway. The red-eyed assassin turned to Tatsumi and flashed him a quick smile. "Good night, Tatsumi."

"Wait, Ak —" Tatsumi tried to Akame what was going on, but she had already left the place. Sighing in defeat, Tatsumi started rubbing the back of his head. _"What was she talking about?"_ he thought to himself in confusion as he walked back to his room. However, Tatsumi stopped dead short when he reached the doorway to the meeting room, and he immediately spotted a familiar face sitting alone in the room.

" _Oh… I get it now…"_ Tatsumi thought, releasing a heavy sigh upon seeing the bottles of alcohol accompanying the blonde girl inside the room. " _Akame must be talking about her then…"_

Leone cringed slightly after having another shot of sake. The _**Lionelle**_ user frowned as she poured herself another drink; staring into her glass, she saw that her eyes were full of sadness. The strong alcohol helped a bit to slightly erase the pain in her heart, but it couldn't fully kill it.

Unlike many of the other members of Night Raid, Leone hadn't experienced the pain of losing a friend close to her heart before. Yes, a few of her friends had died but none of them were as close to her as Sheele was. The purple-haired woman was like a sister to Leone, and her death hit the blonde particularly hard. Not to mention, Bulat's death was just the nail to the coffin. It was the first time she had to say goodbye to someone so close.

After Sheele's death, Leone had quickly turned to drinking alone. Although she had Tatsumi, she didn't want him to be involved in her own problems because Sheele wasn't close to him as she was. She always drank at night so that the others wouldn't find out and worry about her. If she could, she'd find a random criminal out there and make him her own personal punching bag to let out her emotions to, but that would never happen. It would also explain her actions why she was punching down countless trees the day Tatsumi and Sayo returned with their dead comrades.

The alcohol numbed her pain, while she remembered all the good times that she had with Sheele. But tonight, Leone was quite surprised to sense another presence in the room, approaching her closely.

"Mind if I join you?" Leone turned her head to see Tatsumi just standing a few meters away from her, smiling slightly.

"Knock yourself out." Leone said solemnly, smiling a bit through her sadness because Tatsumi was here. Although she would have wanted to keep this problem to her own, she wasn't gonna complain about the fact that her mate was here with her. She pointed to the chair beside her, and gestured for him to take his seat.

Tatsumi grinned and took the seat next to the blonde before Leone handed him a shot glass.

"Here…" Leone said with a grin as she filled a glass for Tatsumi. "Drink up. You're gonna need it for this long night."

* * *

Mine was on her way back to her room after drowning out her sadness back at the kitchen; she had felt rejected before, but she had never felt rejected through this way, by having the boy she had a crush on kiss one of her assassin friends in front of her. She was way better than this and she wouldn't beat herself up for a petty crush, so she didn't really cry for long, and only for a few minutes before sitting silently after that.

But still, the feelings that she felt for Tatsumi were genuine and she had grown attached to the guy. Heck, she even writes about him in her diary! During his early days in their group, she was brash, arrogant, teasing, and acted smug around him. But he survived all of that and actually brought out the good side of Mine that she acted hard on him only at certain times.

" _I guess I should go back to my room now…"_ she thought to herself with a sad face, hugging herself again with her own arms. " _Akame is already sleeping with him in his room anyway…"_ However, just when she passed by the meeting room, her eyes manage to catch two familiar faces sitting together inside. " _Wait a minute?! W-Was that_ — _?!"_ Almost immediately, she rushed back towards the doorway to the meeting room.

Her eyes widened once again with what she now witnessed in front of her.

There was no doubt about it. Tatsumi was on top of Leone, massaging her bare breasts while he was kissing her ferociously like an animal, while the busty blonde had her arms wrapped around his neck and returned the kiss with just as much fury and passion as he did. Tatsumi's jacket and shirt was on the floor, leaving him shirtless but he still had his shorts on. Leone had nothing covering her torso, and she was left in only her panties.

Mine's face was reduced to nothing to red as moans of pleasure filled with room.

" _WHAT THE HECK IS HAPPENING HERE?!"_ was what she wanted to scream out, but nothing came out of her mouth. Her eyes then flew to the several bottles of alcohol that was near them, and her eyes widened. " _Are… they… DRUNK?!"_

A few more moments later, steam had started coming out of the pink-haired sniper's ears as she rushed away from the room, covering her own ears. " _I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! DON'T THOSE TWO HAVE ANY INDECENCY?!"_ she screamed internally, closing her eyes as she ran away back to her own room.

Upon reaching her room, Mine immediately locked the door and threw herself on the bed, her face buried into her pillow as the image of Tatsumi and Leone making out like crazed sex addicts burned into her mind. " _AAGGHH! Damn it, I can't forget about it! Fuck, I don't think even a good night's sleep can get rid of it! I'm such a pervert…"_ she cried internally, rolling all over her own bed over and over.

However, in the midst of her wails, she then began to notice something. Earlier, she saw Tatsumi kissing Leone and he was most likely drunk. But way earlier than that, she witnessed Akame kissing Tatsumi in the kitchen and that's when she assumed that they were a couple! What happened? Did Akame suddenly forgot about Tatsumi and then Leone managed to snag him away? Or did something else, whatever it was, happen?

What was going on between them?

" _What does this mean?"_ she asked herself, sitting up from her bed. " _Akame was kissing Tatsumi, and Leone was also kissing him? Is Akame even stupid enough to leave her boyfriend to Leone when she is drunk? Wait, that's not possible… she's not that stupid… did Leone somehow make a deal with her that Tatsumi would be hers for tonight? No, that's not it, either! Or maybe… oh my God, is Tatsumi somehow dating the both of — GAH, WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!"_ she stopped herself in her own thoughts by hitting her own head with her pillow.

After hitting her head for a few times, Mine clenched her fists and flashed a look of determination.

"This is definitely weird, but I can tell that something very suspicious is going on with Tatsumi, Leone, and Akame…" she said, remembering what she saw in the kitchen and in the meeting room as she planted her fist into her palm. "I need to find out what's happening between those three! I know that it's not my business anymore, but I'm going to get to the bottom of this, one way or another!"

* * *

 _ **Yep, Bulat and Sheele are dead… *sniff sniff* Well, at least Sheele confessed her feelings right! That at least shows that she's a member of the harem, at least only for less than a minute… D:**_

 _ **Mine acting less and less of a tsundere… heh, I hope you like how her character is now… I always hated the bitchy side of her… ohohohoho, she said that she wanted to sleep with Tatsumi! Hahahahaha**_

 _ **And so, Tatsumi makes the infamous promise to Akame. Will someone die again, though? Or will Tatsumi keep his promise and win this war without him or anyone else in Night Raid dying ever again?**_

 _ **Mine just witnessed both Akame and Leone share a particular moment with Tatsumi, and it has gotten her really curious! Can she find out the truth about Tatsumi's relationship with both girls and possibly get her space in his heart? I hope you like how I portrayed her jealous side, hehe… XD**_

 _ **Harem: Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **If you want to catch up with me and your other favorite writers, join our Discord server:**_

[discord . gg / uDxVym8]

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	14. Kill the Beasts

_**4TH UPDATE IN A ROW! XD (Might be slow after this)**_

"Normal Talking"

 _"Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters…**_

* * *

 **(The Next Day; Night Raid's Meeting Room)**

Najenda walked inside the room with Lubbock by her side; upon arriving, Akame and Leone could be seen crushing Tatsumi between them with their own bodies while Sayo was laughing a bit at her friend's agony. Seryu was patting Koro on the head and Mine rested her head on top of her arms, which were on top of her knees as her body was curled up in a relaxing position. The pinkette could be either thinking deeply about something, or she was just still recovering from her fever.

The Boss let out a laugh while Lubbock groaned in annoyance.

"That's not fair! Why does he get all the girls?!" he said, which earned him a hard smack on his head courtesy of the silver-haired woman's mechanical arm and which left his head smoking while he was lying on the ground.

"Maybe it's because he's not a disgusting pervert." Leone said, smirking at the green-haired man at lying on the floor.

"Well, the reason I called everyone here today is because of a request. There is no contract and there is no money involved." Najenda said,

"You mean that we're going to act on our own, Boss?" asked Sayo.

"Yes. It has something to do with Bulat and Sheele's deaths, so I recommend that everyone should take this seriously." Upon the mention of their deceased comrades, the atmosphere in the room suddenly grew cold and tense, showing that this was not something to be taken so slightly. "During the last mission, Bulat was able to eliminate two of Esdeath's Three Beasts, who are her elite bodyguards and dedicated servants. However, there are two of them left and it's highly possible that they could be targeting another civil servant in retaliation for the loss of their comrade. I think that they might be those Night Raid impostors that have been using our name to mask their doings."

"So that means… the ones responsible for our friends' deaths are the impostors…" Leone growled, clenching her fists in anger.

"That's the most logical explanation for what's happening, yes. I think that they will be after former Minister Chouri's head next, since he is the most important one out of all those civil servants who fight against the current Empire. And once he is eliminated, Esdeath will surely be proud of them as well as the current Minister himself, which leads me to thinking that he is their next target."

"What's the plan, then Boss?"

"The former minister is due to a trip towards the Southern tribes for an agreement, according to our latest intel. Tatsumi, I want you to take Leone and Sayo with you and eliminate the remaining Beasts. The most advisable way would be to kill them while they still haven't attacked Chouri's convoy, so you wouldn't have to reveal your identities. However, you will have no choice to reveal yourselves if they have already attacked, because Chouri's life is at stake here. For this mission, Mine can't provide long-ranged support so we'll have to go with Sayo for this. Are you fine with this, Sayo?" she asked, turning to the dark-haired girl.

"I'm totally fine with it, Boss… I can't wait to go on this mission!" said Sayo, a look of determination appearing on her face. " _Now I can show those bastards just who they've messed with! I'll make them pay for taking Bulat and Sheele away from us!"_

"Okay, that's settled. I had originally planned for Seryu to join you three in this mission, but there is a chance that one of our enemies can escape alive and report back to Esdeath about what happened. If ever Seryu had to fight them on face-to-face, it would mean that she'll be showing her face to them, and it would spell trouble for her as she is now with us instead of being dead. If you remember, she told us that she faked her death to remove herself from the service of the empire."

Everyone in the room nodded as Koro made a disappointing sound.

"Aw, don't feel bad Koro!" Seryu said, hugging the teigu closely to her chest. "Tatsumi and the others will bring those criminals to justice for us! We'll get you some criminals to eat soon, okay? Besides, I know that we'll be given another mission again… we just have to wait for it!"

"Ok, now that you know what to do, you three should get going. If I'm not mistaken, they have left for their journey just about half an hour ago. Tatsumi should be able to catch up to them quickly and drop Sayo at a considerable distance, while Leone can get there with her natural speed. That is all."

"All right! I can't wait to get my hands on those bastards! I'll destroy their faces with my own arms and I'll finally avenge Aniki and Sheele! I'll see you within ten minutes! I'll just pack up." Tatsumi said, running out of the room after grabbing an apple from the fruit basket.

"Hey, wait for me!" Sayo said, running after her childhood friend.

Najenda turned to everyone. "Okay, now that he is out of here, I need to talk to all of you about another matter."

"What is it, Boss?" asked Leone.

"At first, I planned for Akame to be the one assigned for this mission instead of Tatsumi because he had just witnessed Sheele and Bulat die right before his very eyes. But at the last second, I went with Tatsumi to ultimately do this mission."

"Why did you change your mind, Boss?" asked Mine, lifting her head up to look at Najenda.

"It's not that I doubt Akame of her abilities, but Tatsumi is perfectly suited for this mission. Because no matter what's going to happen later on, somebody is going to get hurt from the for Minister's convoy and there is a high chance that the Chouri himself would get involved. Out of all of us, Tatsumi is the only one who has knowledge in how to treat wounds, and he could bring Chouri back here for immediate treatment should he ever need it."

"Well, there's nothing wrong with that, Boss!" exclaimed Leone. "Tatsumi is one hell of a fighter and he can take care of wounds fairly easily. Hell, he beat a teigu user all by himself and he healed Akame of her wounds back then. I think you made the right decision on this."

"Are we all ok with Tatsumi taking on this mission?" Najenda asked, crossing her arms and furrowing her eyebrows.

"I have hope that Tatsumi would finish this mission without failure. He has once proven me wrong when he came back without injuries from the mission to kill Ogre. I learned to trust him more after that and when he came back from his mission to kill Zanku, he did it on his own and without my help… even if Zanku was a teigu user."

"He did fight Akame and almost beat her." Lubbock pointed out, crossing his arms.

"Hey, don't forget that he healed Akame when he got here, without even any hesitation or doubts that she might be his enemy. So of course, I have complete faith in Tatsumi for this mission." said Leone, grinning widely.

"Well, he was a really big help to me when we partnered up for a mission…" Mine said, hiding her blushing face from everyone else by burying her head in her arms. "I don't think I'll be here alive if it wasn't for him… I'm not saying that I needed his help, though! I'm just… I'm just being honest with everyone here!"

Leone nodded, but it could be seen that she was sending the pinkette a smirk. "Well, we'll see today what he has in store for the Three Beasts since he manages to surprise me every single time."

Najenda smirked and bowed her head. "I guess we'll just need to see how he performs, won't we? Anyone else have an opinion on this matter?"

Seryu raised her hand and began to speak up. "Yeah. I had the pleasure of fighting Tatsumi as an enemy and he's definitely not one to mess with. Even if he was outnumbered, he managed to hold his own against me and Koro. And of course, his sword is something I've never seen before… and it's really handy to use in tough situations since he can fly with it."

"Well, there you have it. I say we hope for the best and hope that this mission be done without anyone dying."

* * *

 **(Thirty minutes later; Forest to the South of Night Raid's Base)**

Tatsumi and Sayo were flying through the air, attempting to find the convoy down below and set a good vantage point for Sayo to stay in and keep an eye from long-range. Leone, in her beast form, was running through the forest towards their possible location. It was a convoy that was headed towards the Southern region, so they needed to catch up to it and guard it before the remaining Three Beasts can lay a hand on them.

"Say Tatsumi, what are you gonna do when you face those bastards?" asked Sayo, clinging on to Tatsumi's back as they flew through the sky.

"I don't know… but I'm gonna make sure that they pay for what they've done to our friends. So you don't have to blame yourself for what happened, Sayo. Okay?" replied Tatsumi, causing the girl to sigh. It had been like this ever since they left the hideout; every time she would ask him a question, he'd just give her a simple answer and stay silent, causing Sayo to be worried for him.

" _Tatsumi, I'm getting worried about you… you don't need to do this all for me… please… don't pressure yourself…"_ she thought to herself, feeling tears sting her eyes.

"Okay, I can see a large tree down there! And there's the convoy! Hang on Sayo, I'm gonna land!" Tatsumi said, seeing a small army of troops protecting a horse carriage. Sayo immediately hugged him tighter as they descended to the ground, before the girl jumped off of him. "You know what to do, right?" he asked her.

"Y-Yeah, I'm gonna have to climb up this tree and scout for those men that we're looking for…" Sayo said, looking at the tree that was beside her and she started rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment. "And then, I'm… gonna keep watch and support you and Leone from… long-range."

"Something wrong, Sayo?" he asked, noticing something weird about his childhood friend.

Sayo began stuttering uncontrollably, before she started shaking her head and flashed a serious look on her face, blinking back her tears. "Tatsumi, I can't take it anymore. I'm worried about you, okay? It's like you're doing this for my sake! You don't need to pressure yourself, Tatsumi… I know I'm sad because of what happened to our friends, but I'll eventually get over it… it's not like I'll be like this forever…"

Tatsumi's eyes widened slightly before he walked towards her and wrapped Sayo in a tight hug; since the girl was actually used to this, she didn't became embarrassed at all. Rather, she just felt weak under his embrace, and he could feel her resting her cheek against his chest. "Sayo, I'm doing this not only for you… I'm doing this for everyone. I'm simply doing my duty as both an assassin and as a friend. So you don't need to be worried about me."

"But you could get hurt acting like that!" she screamed in his face, separating from their hug. "Recklessness like this will lead you to getting yourself killed! Ieyasu's gone, Sheele's gone, Bulat's gone… and I don't think I can handle it if I lose you too!"

"Sayo…" he said before leaning in to kiss the dark-haired girl on the lips. Her eyes immediately widened in shock as he his hand went behind her to hold her upper back. Was this really happening? Was Tatsumi, the one boy she had a crush on ever since they were kids, kissing her for real? Just like how any other person would react, she closed her eyes and returned his action, yet she could feel herself melting to the kiss that he was giving her.

The kiss wasn't short and nor was it long, but Tatsumi managed to openly convey his message to his childhood friend. He separated from her lips, and just when Sayo thought she was enjoying it, she suddenly opened her eyes and looked at him in shock. "T-Tatsumi…" was all that she could breathe out, as she was too frozen to even tell him another word. Her cheeks were starting to burn up as he patted her shoulder.

"You won't lose me, Sayo. I promise you. I made the same promise to Akame, so I'll do the same with you." he told her, smiling warmly at his childhood friend. "I won't die, and I won't let anyone else die, either! You won't mourn for me, Sayo. I'll never make you mourn again. So you can forget all about blaming yourself and just focus on the mission, okay?"

She was still frozen in place. It looked like she was stuck in a trance, and therefore wasn't able to give him even a simple answer.

The young man then looked behind him and saw that Leone was speeding in towards them, heading for the location of the convoy that they were supposed to protect. He quickly turned back to Sayo and patted her on the shoulder again. "Sorry, Sayo! Leone's already here and we have to get going! Good luck on things here!" he said, running off to join his blonde girlfriend as they set off to head for the convoy.

His voice seemed to have snapped the girl out of her temporary trance, and thus she tried calling out to him. "Tatsumi, wait!" she yelled out, but it was too late because her two comrades were at least 50 meters away from her now, and it was impossible for him to even hear her shout at least.

" _D-D-Did Tatsumi just… k-kiss… me?"_ she thought to herself, her face burning with embarrassment before she let out a loud squeak. " _KYAAA! Does this mean that he… a-also l-likes_ — _?"_ she then began shaking her head furiously as she felt her heart pounding in her chest. " _Wait! No, you can't think like this Sayo! We have a mission to do! If Tatsumi's doing this for me and the others, then I have to make sure I return the favor! Your feelings can be sorted some other time!"_ she thought with determination, turning her attention to the tree beside her and began to climb up to the highest branch.

* * *

"So… what did you and Sayo talk about?" Leone asked as she ran side-by-side with Tatsumi.

"Nothing. I just promised her something." he replied immediately with a small blush, not wanting to bring up the fact that he just kissed his childhood friend. His cheeks grew a considerable shade of red upon remembering just what he did, and it caused him to shake his head furiously to get it out of his head.

"Oh, why are you shaking your head? What's going on?" the girl asked before a mischievous grin appeared on her face. "Does it have something to do with that little kiss you gave Sayo a few moments ago?" Tatsumi looked at her, shocked that she was able to figure it out despite the fact that she didn't witness it outright. "Don't underestimate my eyes and ears while in beast form, Tatsumi… so what happened? Is Sayo going to join me and Akame as your little harem?"

"Shut up! I-I was just trying to calm her down because she wouldn't stop worrying about me…" he replied, looking to the side so that Leone wouldn't see his blushing face. "B-Besides, I doubt that Sayo would want to share me and I don't think she likes me in that way… I was just acting in the heat of the moment…"

"Oh, but it looked like she was enjoying the kiss you were giving her! Why else would she return the kiss if she didn't like you? Tatsumi, you may be a ladykiller but I swear that you're a bit dense sometimes… " she laughed.

Tatsumi just rolled his eyes in slight annoyance before a look of shock appeared on his face. He spotted the convoy about 100 meters away from them, but then there laid the problem. Two men wearing black military uniforms and they were lying in wait for the convoy to arrive their way. " _There they are…"_ His eyes then narrowed as he stopped running and unsheathed _**Starfall**_.

"Tatsumi, what are you doing?" asked the busty blonde, stopping in her tracks when she noticed that her mate wasn't running anymore.

"The convoy is just up ahead, but those bastards are in hiding, waiting for them so they could kill them all with ease!" he said, turning towards Leone. "You just keep on running Leone, you'll catch up… but it's time for me to make my move, before somebody else gets hurt! Time to fly!" he finished, launching himself off the ground as he flew towards their target's location.

"Tatsumi!" Leone tried calling out, but was too late since he was already in the air. "Shit, he's already gone! Damn it!" she cursed, continuing on running at her top speed towards the convoy so that she'll be able to catch up. " _Tatsumi… I just hope you'll be careful in what you're planning… I can't bear to lose you…"_

Tatsumi had never flown through the sky faster than this before, it was like his mind was telling him to go and kill his targets, and there was nothing on his brain right now except for his mission. There was nothing else on his mind, and he was willing to temporary forget about everything if it meant avenging the devastating losses that Night Raid experienced a few days ago.

For Sheele. For Bulat.

Unfortunately for him, one of those men in black couldn't wait anymore as one of them jumped out of their hiding place with an evil grin on his face. The large man with spiky blonde hair drew his double-edged axe and easily cut through the entire troop of guards that were surrounding the convoy. All of them fell to his mighty weapon and it was no mercy for every single on of them. However, a woman, although she was injured, managed to survive by rolling to the sidelines.

Tatsumi then spotted the female being approached by the smaller one of the two, holding a knife. Due to the girl's injuries, she couldn't go anywhere and there was nowhere for her to go. "Damn it, I was too late! I need to land now! So much for my attack from above…" With perfect accuracy, Tatsumi landed just beside the horse carriage, and he managed to successfully draw the two men's attention from the girl towards him.

Holding his sword tightly in his hand, Tatsumi calmly walked towards the two beasts. The boy with the small knife narrowed his eyes as he eyed the newcomer up and down. "You must be one of the people that the Minister warned us about. How foolish of you to show up here, Night Raid."

Tatsumi stopped in his tracks just as he reached the blonde girl who was plainly staring at him as he spoke. "I guess. But I'm gonna have to handle being a fool right now, because I was told that this convoy was going to be attacked and I wanted to put a stop to it." he said in a neutral tone

"You're quite arrogant to show up here alone. Night Raid usually operate in groups and they work at night."

"I don't care even if I'm alone." Tatsumi said, his face hardening as he pointed his sword towards them. "I'll kill the both of you with my own hands! I'll make you pay for taking Bulat and Sheele away from us!"

Unknown to him, the blonde girl who was resting by the horse carriage near him widened her eyes at the mention of the name 'Sheele'.

"Wait, wait, wait. Bulat… you mean that little man that Liver faced and died because of his own stupidity?" said the large blonde man as he lowered his axe, before he laughed out loud, as if he was mocking Tatsumi's friends. "Oh, so you weren't with him and that purple slut when they died… well let me refreshen my memory and I'll tell you exactly what happened!"

"Don't you dare!" Tatsumi roared out as his body began to emit a bright yellow aura.

"Oh, I can recall it… me and Nyau were laughing at that wimp while he was fighting Liver… and while we were distracted, that purple slut tried sneaking up on us from behind! Heh, if it wasn't for Nyau's warning, I wouldn't have survived it! Then after Nyau took that huge scissors from her, I made my move and beat her up to a bloody pulp! I could still feel her glasses shattering in my own hand…"

"You better shut your mouth up right now…" the brunette growled, his eyes beginning to glow yellow.

"And then all of a sudden, the great Bulat comes in to save the day! Well, that idiot was the cause of her own death… if he didn't come in and acted like the hero, he wouldn't have died!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Tatsumi bellowed, rushing forward to finish off Daidara once and for all. However, the blonde-haired man managed to raise his teigu, _**Belvaac**_ , just in time to deflect Tatsumi's attack. "I'LL KILL THE TWO OF YOU FOR MOCKING MY FRIENDS! I'LL SEND YOU BOTH TO HELL RIGHT NOW!"

"Heh, then let's see what you got! You have a fiery attitude, I'll get so much experience points for this! What is your name? I am Daidara! Let's find out who's stronger, little man!" he grinned evilly at Tatsumi and began a test of strength between the two teigus.

Due to his size advantage, Daidara seemed like he was winning at first but Tatsumi didn't let up. He put in every ounce to push his enemy back and in the process, his eyes have glowed to a bright yellow that he looked like there was something possessing him. Daidara paid this no heed and took it as mind games, but in the end, Tatsumi managed to oppose the blonde man's strength and it resulted in a stalemate between the two men.

Nyau, who was watching the fight closely, decided to make his presence known and rushed in to help adn finish this battle. "Oh, you have a pretty face! I'll add it to my collection!" he said, lashing out the knife as he reached Tatsumi.

To evade it, Tatsumi simply leaned his head back and immediately turned to Nyau, delivering a massive headbutt to him that sent the young boy staggering back, and caused Tatsumi to get distracted for a brief second. This allowed Daidara to capitalize on him and bring his axe down, finally gaining the upper hand against the brunette, who quickly sidestepped in order to avoid the strike. Tatsumi then brought up his right knee and hit the blonde man right towards his jaw, causing a tooth to fly out from Daidara's mouth due to the sheer strength of the attack.

While both Beasts were momentarily stunned with how Tatsumi was holding his own against them, the young assassin jumped back and held his sword using both of his hands, glaring fiercely at his two enemies. Both Daidara eventually recovered from

"I'm ending this right now! RAAAAAAAGGGGHHH!" he screamed out, as _**Starfall's**_ blade started to glow yellow and his body got bathed in bright light, causing both Nyau and Daidara to shield their eyes with their arms. Only a few seconds later though, just when the light appeared to have died down a bit, Daidara took this opportunity to charge and attack while Tatsumi was open.

"I don't know what you're doing, but it's not going to work kid!" he said, covering his eyes with one arm as the other held his axe.

However, his attack would prove useless when Tatsumi pointed his weapon towards him, stopping Daidara in his tracks since the brunette was planning something. Nyau had also stood frozen in his place, watching in awe at what was happening with Tatsumi, as he had never seen something like this before, not even with Esdeath.

" _ **Heavenly Blast!"**_ he yelled out as a massive yellow energy beam shot out of _**Starfall**_ , and headed towards both Daidara and Nyau; the radius of the attack was so large that it was impossible for them to move away. The two beasts' eyes widened as they got engulfed in the attack themselves, drowning out their screams of pain in the beam.

Tatsumi kept up his attack for as long as he could, but as the minutes passed, the yellow light that covered his body started to dissipate and the yellow beam that came out of his sword became smaller and smaller aa if it was disappearing.

As soon as the brunette's eyes had returned to normal, his sword was also back to its original color and the energy beam he created was gone. Tatsumi looked confused for a moment as he stared at his surroundings as if he had no idea what was going on. "What's going on?" he asked himself, panting before he noticed something glowing on his right palm.

He opened his hand and gazed at it, just as a star suddenly appeared on it like a tattoo. Similar to the sun's generic appearance, it had eight rays but then one of it faded into his skin, leaving only seven afterwards. Tatsumi's eyes widened and he shook his hand a few times before looking at it again, only to see that the weird sun-looking tattoo was already gone.

"Weird…" Tatsumi said to himself before he heard someone clapping their hands just behind him. Thinking that it was a possible enemy, he immediately turned around and prepared to fight, only for him to see that it was just Leone.

"Wow…" Leone whistled, shaking her head as her mouth fell open in shock. "Holy shit, what did you just do?"

"What do you mean?" the young man asked in confusion, furrowing his eyebrows.

"What the hell? You don't know?" Leone said incredulously, looking at him in disbelief. "You basically overboard and owned those bastards! Didn't you even notice the giant energy beam that you just released from your damn sword?!"

"T-This thing?" said Tatsumi, looking at his teigu in awe.

"Yeah, you were glowing like a firefly in the middle of the road and your eyes were looking damn scary… then all of a sudden, you fired out a huge laser beam to those two bastards over there and you made quite the mark on them. Look for yourself," she said as she gestured for Tatsumi to look behind him, where he saw both beasts lying on the ground in defeat and with smoke oozing from their bodies. However, the smaller one, managed to still move despite the pain in his body.

"I-I didn't know I could…" he muttered, before he remembered the weird tattoo he had seen on his hand and he figured that Leone could help him with it. Maybe it had some connection of the sort with what just happened with himself.

"Hey Leone, do you think —" he was cut off immediately when Leone had started laughing uncontrollably while slapping her knee with her hand.

"Oh, wait until everyone at the base hears about this! I bet they'll be excited to know and see just how you that first-hand! It's a really good thing that we got you on our side, Tatsumi! That minister won't stand a chance with you being so strong like that… oh, and I'm feeling so hot and bothered right now… just seeing you own them like that sent shivers down my spine!" she said with a blush.

"Well, I… I guess…" he said, before remembering that he needed to ask his blonde girlfriend something important and urgent. "Leone, can I ask you something? It's something really important and I need you to give your opinion on it."

"Sure. But make sure you hurry up, because I'm still itching to kill some criminals…" she shrugged.

"Did you see the weird sun tattoo that I had on my palm earlier? It just disappeared just now actually." he asked her. "I think it has something to do with what just happened, so I figured that it must be some kind of trigger to whatever I did."

"Well, I don't know what the hell you're talking about because I can't see any tattoo on your hand… next time, you should try to make sense first before asking me to answer a question, okay?" she smirked at him, causing him to drop his head in shame.

"Damn it…" he mumbled, before finally looking up again when he noticed that the busty blonde was already in front of him with stars in her eyes.

"Can I kill them? Please, Tatsumi? Let me have some fun for myself… you already had them immobilized for me…" she pleaded, faking a pout with puppy-dog eyes and he had no choice but to sigh and shake his head, since he was already beaten to it.

"Fine… I'll go check on the wounded, then…" he groaned, flashing a look of displease before Leone kissed him on the cheek and skipped off to go for her prey. Tatsumi rolled his eyes and sheathed his sword before he started to walk towards the blonde woman he had seen on the sidelines ever since earlier. On the way, memories of what just happened just about a minute ago began to fill his mind, showing him that Leone was really telling the truth with regards to the 'laser beam' thing she was talking about earlier.

" _No mistake about it… looks like Leone was telling the truth then."_ he thought to himself. " _But what… what caused me to act like that? I didn't even know what I was doing at that point… and who would have thought I could use laser beams like that against my enemies? That would surely come in handy when I face a strong one like Esdeath… and also…"_ he glanced at his hand again, before turning his attention back to the girl. " _That weird tattoo… that wouldn't appear on my hand for no reason at all… I need to know more about it but for now… time to do my job."_

Upon reaching the long-haired girl who was lying on her back beside the horse carriage and holding her belly, Tatsumi knelt down and stared at her thick clothing. He turned his head to look at her face, asking for permission from her silently and she only nodded slightly in agreement with a small blush on her face.

With that, Tatsumi pulled off her heavy fur coat before unbuttoning her shirt, revealing her undergarments and the wound on her midsection. "Oh, that's a relief. It's nothing serious, only a minor one. So, what's your name?" Tatsumi asked as he pulled out his medical kit from his pants' pocket.

"Spear…" the girl hissed in pain when she felt more of her blood seeping out, causing Tatsumi to take off his jacket and used it to cover her wound.

"Well Spear, it's quite amazing that you survived that killing blow. Name's Tatsumi, by the way. That giant blonde bastard was pretty strong and his axe is one killer weapon." he said, pulling out the small bottle of alcohol along with his needle.

"I'm… not as strong as you… you… pretty much killed him with what you just did… whatever it was." she replied, feeling the brunette lift her head up so that she was leaning against one of the bodies of the fallen soldiers.

"Well, regardless of what I did, he was a powerful enemy." Tatsumi said, pouring some alcohol into her wound. She screamed out in pain, but she managed to muffle her voice by clamping her hand to her mouth. Tatsumi took a deep breath as he begun sewing her up and quickly thought of something to talk about. If he spoke to her, it would ease the pain as her attention would be on him and not on her own self.

"Looks like you aren't the only one who survived this. There's an old man inside that carriage who's looking quite shocked at everything. Any chance that he's the former prime minister Chouri?" he asked, looking up at the carriage next to them.

"Yes he is… and he's my father." the girl answered, looking back towards Tatsumi.

"Well, he was overthrown by the current minister, Honest, right? Why were heading to the Southern Region, by the way?"

"We were going to make an agreement with the Southern Tribes to help us in our fight against the current minister in politics."

Tatsumi nodded a few times. "Interesting… well, that's not exactly going to work with how corrupt the Empire is as of now. And that's exactly why my friends and I have another solution for it. Instead of fighting him at his own game, we'll just remove him from the picture… literally." he said in a dark voice.

"Yeah… I've heard of Night Raid before through rumors being passed around in the capital… I thought you were evil bandits who kill random people everywhere you go."

"Nah, that's just Empire shit running all around that place. I won't deny the fact that we're killers, but we only kill those who deserve it. Hence, what happened here." he said, finishing up his sewing as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"I kind of figured." she said, turning her head to the side and narrowing her eyes before glancing back at the young man. "Thank you for… saving me from those men… I would've died if you didn't…" she couldn't continue in her words out of humiliation, feeling that she was useless despite the years she spent training at the Temple of the Imperial Fist.

"No thanks necessary. Just doing my job. Aaannnddd… there. All done." Tatsumi declared, helping her sit up before patting her head softly, causing her to blush. "You're all stitched up. I suggest you go see a doctor about those stitches in about two weeks for any further infections. If you don't mind me… I just have one more guy to have to kill." Tatsumi said, grabbing a spear from one of the dead guards around him.

He then stood up and walked over to Leone who had already disarmed the Nyau of his flute. Daidara was already lying on his back dead, with a large hole on his stomach as his axe laid by his side. Tatsumi cracked his neck and pointed his axe towards the boy's neck; Leone had stepped to the side to let him take over as he began to speak.

"What were you planning to do to that girl? You weren't even aiming for her neck. And what can you tell me about Esdeath? I might just give you a chance to live longer." he asked, narrowing his eyes.

Nyau spat at Tatsumi's face and glared fiercely at him. "Fuck you. I don't owe you an explanation. Just kill me already and go to hell." he growled.

"Fair enough. I have no real need to hear it, anyway. And you'll beat me there, actually." Tatsumi said, wiping his face as he pushed the spear towards Nyau's throat, killing him immediately. He gritted his teeth as he drove the weapon deeper, causing his head to separate from the rest of his body. Tatsumi took a deep breath and stood up afterwards, rolling his shoulders before turning to Leone. "Sorry about stealing away your kill." he said with an embarrassed grin.

"No… heh, it was pretty satisfying to see you do that to the little fucker. Sneaky of him to hide behind the body of his larger friend when you hit 'em with the giant laser beam." Leone replied with a grin of her own.

"I… still have to figure out how that happened but for now…" he looked at the teigu _**Scream**_ on Leone's left hand and the axe near Daidara's body. "Let's grab these two teigus that they have and take them back to base. Liver's teigu is already there anyway, so there's no need to search for it." he told her as he was about to get _**Belvaac**_ , before Leone's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Tatsumi, you might want to take a look at this." The young man turned around and saw a piece of yellow paper on her right hand as she smirked. He immediately walked back towards her and looked at what was written on the paper, and his eyes widened before grabbing it himself and scowled at it with disgust. "T-This is…" he growled.

"Uh-huh. They're exactly the guys who were using our name to try and frame us for all the murders that were happening in the capital." Leone said, grinning evilly as she cracked her knuckles.

Tatsumi chuckled a bit as he crumpled the paper in his grasp, before dropping it to the ground. "Esdeath is more intelligent than I thought she was…" he muttered.

Leone shrugged her shoulders. "Well, she isn't the strongest in the Empire for nothing. She earned her title for a reason, Tatsumi."

Tatsumi snickered. "I know that. And I also have this feeling that I'm about to meet her very soon…" he said before stretching his limbs out. "Alright, it's time we get back to base. The others would be happy when they receive this news… and I hope Sayo's already on her way back if she watched everything that was happening here. I feel so satisfied now that Bulat and Sheele have been avenged… now they can rest in peace, and we can continue fighting for the future that they died for."

Leone nodded with a grin, returning back to her normal form. "Man, it feels so good to finally get back at those bastards! I feel I can have a good night's sleep tonight! Mind if I join you and Akame later in your room tonight?" she asked slyly, leaning over to his ear to whisper it in a low tone.

He smirked at her in return before giving her ass a quick slap, causing her to jump slightly. "That shouldn't be a question since you already know the answer, you damn cat…" he joked as they began to walk away. However, just as they were leaving, the both of them heard a voice of a man.

"Wait!" the voice called out. Tatsumi and Leone turned their heads towards the man, and they both noticed that it was the former minister Chouri, who had just stepped out of his carriage with a slight smile on his face. "I want to thank you for saving us. It seems we are wrong about our assumptions regarding Night Raid, and for that, we are sorry."

Tatsumi playfully shook his head and smiled in return. "There is no need to feel sorry, as we understand the consequences of the dark path that we have taken. And thank our boss. She predicted that you guys would be attacked soon and she sent us to handle it, but hey, you're welcome nonetheless."

"Hang on." The blonde girl, Spear, walked over to her father's side with a determined look on her face, slightly limping. She was slightly in pain and she had lost some blood so she felt a little woozy in her steps. "I wish to join Night Raid and join you in your fight against the Empire."

Both Night Raid assassins widened their eyes slightly at the girl's sudden announcement. Chouri, who looked shocked as well, turned to the girl.

"Spear, are you sure about this? I have no objections with your sudden decision given the events that transpired today but… I thought you were happy being my bodyguard?" he asked.

"Heh. Some bodyguard I was… I wasn't even able to defend you properly." she said with a small smile as she clenched her fists. "But I think that they can teach me to be stronger… and once that happens, I'll do what I can to help shape the Empire for a better future. What Tatsumi told me earlier is right. Nothing will change if we continue to fight our enemy by their rules and I think it's time to start fighting fire with fire."

Chouri sighed and turned to Tatsumi. He was expecting his daughter to eventually come to this decision and he wasn't going to object to it, but he didn't like the fact that he was going to be separated from her. "Can she even come with you two?"

"We can bring her back to base and our Boss will make the decision to join." Leone said, turning around to face them so she could explain everything. "If she doesn't get in, then we'll just be sending her to the HQ of the Revolutionary Army or one of its bases, so there is no need for you to worry. However, you will be separated from her either way until the Empire is freed."

"I see." Chouri said, shaking his head. "I think it's time I retire from this politician work as well… it's getting too dangerous, considering what happened today." The man said, observing the scene around him. "I would've opted to join your kids on your assassin work to be with my daughter, but my age will hold you down.

"You'd join Night Raid?" Tatsumi asked, surprised.

The former minister laughed slightly. "Well, I used to be a Commander in the army back in my youth before going on to be a politician. But, I can at least go to the Revolutionary Army and offer my help there… where can I find one of its bases?"

"I won't tell you the exact location, but if you head to the mountains to the southwest of the Empire, and head to the shrine at the base of the third tallest peak, we will have a member of the revolutionary army contact you and lead you to one of the bases. From there, if Spear is a part of Night Raid at that time, she can visit you from time to time."

"Very well." The man nodded and bowed slightly. "Allow me to just impart a few words to my daughter before we go our separate ways then."

"Take your time." Tatsumi said, turning to Leone as he started to whisper something towards her ear. "You should go on ahead and tell everyone I'm bringing home a guest. You have that flute with you, right? I'll bring that axe back with me so you won't have to carry that big thing. We won't be _long_ here, if you get what I mean?" he winked at her and she nodded her head and started walking away.

"You better watch out for Akame when you get back, though… the girl's gonna be jealous when she finds out that you've been alone with another blonde bombshell other than me…" she teased and Tatsumi only rolled his eyes at her, before she finally ran off, leaving him with the Chouri and her daughter.

"You're a grown woman now, my daughter…" Chouri said, grabbing the young woman by her shoulders. "You're allowed to make your own decisions now, and I have faith that you will always choose to do the right thing, even if you are going down a dark path as these assassins. I want you to know that I've always been proud of what you've become, and I'm sure you mother would've been too. If you are to bring this Empire down, I want you to stay safe and always watch your back. I love you and I will miss you, Spear." he then brought in the young woman for a hug and a few tears of joy escaped the girl's eyes.

"I will miss you too, father. I promise that I will visit you from time to time, and I will do my best to help Night Raid. I won't be dying anytime soon, I'll make sure of it. I'll be stronger than before, and I will survive until the end."

Tatsumi watched from a distance with a smile on his face before his eyes flew towards _**Belvaac**_ , which was still lying on the ground; he walked towards it and picked it up from the ground so he could bring it back to the hideout.

Chouri then pulled away from his daughter and removed the hat on her head. "I relieve you of your duties as my bodyguard." he said, before pulling out a cloak from one of the dead soldiers and got a few gold coins from another one. After putting on the cloak, the former minister approached Tatsumi and patted him on the shoulder.

"Tatsumi, was it?" he asked and the young assassin nodded. "Take care of my daughter, or I'll kill you." he joked, causing the both of them to laugh before walking away. With one last wave, he left the two teenagers as he headed for the southwestern mountains.

Spear was left temporarily frozen in her place as she watched her father leave her for now before she felt someone pat her on the shoulder. She looked to the side and saw Tatsumi smirking at her.

"Come on, we have to get going. Get on." he said, gesturing for her to climb on his back.

"What are you doing?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Well obviously, you're limping right now to get around, right? I can't have you getting tired and collapsing before we get there, so climb on my back and hang on. This'll probably be a bit scary for a first-timer like you." he said with a smile as he brought out his sword.

"O-Okay…" she replied, limping towards Tatsumi as she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. "What are you planning to do, anyway?"

"Just hang on tight and enjoy the ride! Time to fly!" he exclaimed as they took off from the ground and into the air. Spear's scream of fear could be heard throughout the skies as the two headed back towards the hideout, and into the bright but _bloody_ future ahead.

* * *

 _ **Well there you have it! Spear has been rescued and the Three Beasts are now all dead! Bulat and Sheele's deaths have been avenged, and they are now in peace.**_

 _ **Lubbock still jealous although he has the Boss… dude, have some respect for your girl! XD**_

 _ **Will Spear be accepted into Night Raid or not? Why did her eyes widen upon hearing Sheele's name? Does she know her or something? Tune in to find out!**_

 _ **Goddamn, that was too OP of Tatsumi to bring down both beasts with one attack? What's the deal with that sun tattoo? Time to find out!**_

 **XXX**

 _ **Starfall's Info card:**_

 _ **Side Effect: Whenever Tatsumi uses a special attack of his teigu (including his trump card) , his life force will decrease. The sun tattoo that appears momentarily on his palm is a symbol of his whole existence. The eight rays on the sun represent his whole life and the moment Tatsumi used one of his special attacks earlier, it became seven afterwards.**_

 _ **Each time that Tatsumi uses a special attack, TEN years is subtracted from his lifespan and once he uses 8 special attacks, he will die IMMEDIATELY. With each use of a special attack, the user will experience some kind of pain or illness in return as a sign of his life force being taken. Each special attack takes up one ray of the sun tattoo on his hand.**_

 _ **There is hidden way to recover the life force that the user has lost with all the special attacks that he used, but that remains unknown to this day.**_

 _ **Harem: Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **If you want to catch up with me and your other favorite writers, join our Discord server:**_

[discord . gg / uDxVym8]

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	15. Kill the Curiosity

_**5th update in a row. (School just started again, sorry)**_

"Normal Talking"

 _"Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters…**_

* * *

 **(Thirty Minutes Later; Night Raid's Hidden Base)**

"I'm a bit nervous…" Spear muttered as she walked behind Tatsumi. "W-What if I'm not welcome?" The blonde girl had her arm around the young man's neck as they headed towards the meeting room. Heck, it had only been half an hour since Spear said farewell to her father, but she had to get used to it starting now.

"Ah, there's no need to worry you know…" Tatsumi told her with a slight chuckle. "Night Raid as a whole really isn't bad as it seems. If you want me to be honest, it's like we're one big happy, but messed up family inside these walls…"

"C-Can you let go of me? I'm pretty sure I can walk on my own without help now. I'm not bleeding anymore either, anyway." she said, causing the two to stop in their tracks.

"All right. Since you asked nicely, I'll do just that…" he said, removing the girl's arm from his neck so she could stand on her own. However, the moment that she tried to walk, she suddenly started losing balance again but Tatsumi managed to catch her in time. "You were saying?" he teased, smirking at the girl.

"Not my fault… I'm still caught off guard with that _ride_ you gave me all the way back here." she huffed, causing the brunette to chuckle slightly. "You should've told me that you were going to fly up in the air earlier… I would've agreed to climb on your back either way."

"Well, I had no idea on what would your reaction be so I used the most logical way to do so." he shrugged, before helping her stand back up properly on her own feet. "Do you still need me to help you walk?"

"No, I got it. Just need to get used to doing it on my own again…" said Spear as she tried to once again stand upright on her feet, and she managed to do it on her own this time, causing her to sigh in relief. "Anyways, shouldn't we get going? Your friends might be wondering what's taking us so long."

"And here I thought you were nervous about meeting them," Tatsumi continued to tease, causing Spear to scowl at him before he waved her off. "Oh come on, I was just kidding. Let's go."

Upon reaching the meeting room, Tatsumi and Spear noticed that everyone else was already gathered there; as soon as the others saw Najenda looking at the doorway, they turned their heads as well to see their brown-haired comrade along with a new face.

"Ah, you're finally back, Tatsumi." said Najenda, a smirk forming on her lips. "Leone told me that the mission was a success thanks to you. I knew that it was the right decision to have you manage this… well done, Tatsumi."

"Well, I'm just doing my job Boss…" he replied as Akame started walking towards him with a worried look on her face. Tatsumi immediately knew what this meant and he raised his arms in defeat. "Yo, Akame. Don't worry, I didn't sustain any injuries and if I did, I'd tell you all about it."

The red-eyed assassin kept her stoic look as she eyed Tatsumi up and down; it's not as if she doubted his words, but it was better to be safe than sure. Besides, Akame trusted him too much to even make out that he was lying to her. After only a few moments of making sure that he wasn't hurt or anything, Akame smiled cutely and began to speak.

"I'm glad that you didn't get hurt at all. Welcome back, Tatsumi." she said, making way for the young man to go inside with Spear following closely behind.

"Thanks, Akame." he said, quickly sending his lover a wink before turning his attention back to all of his friends. "Oh everyone, I brought back a guest! Come on Spear, don't be nervous!" he exclaimed, glancing back at the woman behind him who looked alarmed for a brief moment before gulping slightly as she took a step forward and revealed herself to everyone else.

"Oh, this must be the girl that Leone was talking about." Najenda said with an amused smirk. "I must say, it's surprising to see the daughter of the prime minister wishing to be an assassin." Spear lowered her head in embarrassment before the Boss stepped forward and patted her on the shoulder. "Well, my name is Najenda, the Boss here in this place. Tell me a little something about yourself, Spear. What can you do to help in our cause?"

"Uhm… well, I'm not really sure if I could help but I will do my best. I was my father's bodyguard up until what happened earlier, and I thought that I was doing my job right and without any mess-ups… but when I nearly got killed by those men earlier, it made me rethink about my own strength and what I can do. It was when Tatsumi fought and won against them single-handedly that led me to this decision. I still have to work hard in order to change the Empire, and it also made me realize that politics is a bitch." she said with venom in her words.

Leone started laughing uncontrollably upon hearing what her fellow blonde just said, falling on the floor while clutching her stomach to try and suppress her humor. "Oh, I like this girl already! She got guts to say that despite her dad being a former minister…" she said with tears coming out of her eyes.

"I may not be as strong as any of you are, but I will do my best to train harder than before and put an end to this government. I'll do it for my father and I'll do it for the people of the capital." she clenched her fist and a look of determination appeared on her face.

" _What determination… I haven't seen fire like that ever since my days as a general…"_ Najenda thought to herself in amusement before she began to speak. "Well then, I guess it's been decided then, hasn't it? Welcome to our dark path, Spear. Let's bring down this hellish empire together." the Boss said with a smile, outstretching her hand for the blonde girl to shake.

"I look forward to working with everyone else here in Night Raid… Boss." Spear said, shaking Najenda's hand in respect before bowing her head, much to the chagrin of the other members.

Seryu was smiling happily at the scene in front of her, feeling delighted that there was another one who would be joining them in their quest for justice. As she patted Koro's head, she then noticed that Mine kept on looking at Spear, then back towards the side, before looking back at the blonde girl all over again in a continuous cycle. The orange-haired girl raised an eyebrow as she walked over towards the pinkette and began to speak.

"Mine? Is there something bothering you? If you want, I can help you with whatever problem you're having." she offered, a smile appearing on her face.

"Huh?" the pinkette said, looking up at Seryu with a confused look on her face before she suddenly realized what was happening. Mine shook her head repeatedly for a few times before laying her head back on top of her arms to rest. "It's nothing… just leave me alone, Seryu."

"There's something bothering you, Mine. Is it our newest member? If you're doubting her of whose side she is, don't worry! Since Tatsumi brought her back here with us I know she'll fight for justice!" Seryu said, punching the air with her fist.

"It's not that at all!" Mine said, looking up at Seryu with a scowl before sighing deeply. "I just… have a feeling that I'm not going to like being around this new girl for a while… but I'm not saying that she should leave though!"

Seryu's eyes widened slightly. "Don't you trust her?" she asked with the utmost confusion.

"No, that's not what I meant…" she huffed. "It's like… whenever I look at her, I can't help but be filled with bad memories…"

"Do you know her from somewhere then?" Seryu glanced at Spear, who was busy talking happily with the others.

Mine shook her head slowly and looked down at the floor. "It's like… when I look at her, I remember Sheele. If you look at her closely, she kind of looks like her, except without the glasses… and since, you know, Sheele was gone just recently… it feels like I'm staring at the dead. No offense to our new member, though."

While cradling Koro in her arms, Seryu turned towards Spear to see for herself if Mine was really telling the truth. Narrowing her eyes, she focused her gaze towards Spear's face and imagine Sheele at the same time. Her eyes then widened and her mouth fell open slowly upon realizing the truth behind the pinkette's words.

"W-Woah… I guess she really does look like Sheele!" Seryu suddenly exclaimed, causing Mine to look at her in shock as she just gained the attention of all the other members upon the mention of their fallen comrade's name.

Spear, in particular, turned immediately towards the two assassins by the other side with a shocked expression on her face. "W-What did you just say?" she stuttered, her eyes widening.

Mine threw herself back on the chair as she sat upright, raising her hands as if she was caught red-handed. "I-It's nothing! Don't worry about it!" she exclaimed, shaking her head because she didn't want to look bad in front of everyone.

The blonde newcomer walked closer towards Spear with a confused look on her face. "What did you say? I looked like who exactly?" she asked, her eyes telling the whole story.

"Oh well, Mine here was telling me how you looked like our friend Sheele!" she said, gesturing towards the pink-haired sniper who looked like as if she was about to have a heart attack any moment. "We also noticed that you really looked a bit like her, actually! Isn't that right, Koro-chan?"

Koro barked in response, agreeing with the orange-haired girl's words.

"Hey, I have nothing to do with this!" Mine denied, shaking her head furiously to deny any future claims against her.

Everybody's eyes widened upon hearing Seryu's words as they took in what she just said. All of them did the same thing; a picture of Sheele appeared in their minds as they looked at Spear, who was looking shocked at the same time and they could pretty much point out the small but noticeable similarities in each girl's appearance. Without her glasses, both girls almost had the same hairstyle and their facial structures were a bit similar to each other as well.

"Oh, now that you mention it, she does look a little bit like Sheele…" Lubbock said, resting his chin on his hand.

"Well, the obvious difference is the hair color, of course…" said Tatsumi, shrugging his shoulders. "But I didn't even manage to notice it until now. I must be an idiot to overlook it…"

"Me neither…" Leone muttered with an astonished tone, now noticing the similarities between Spear and Sheele in terms of appearance.

"S-Sheele…" the blonde woman said to herself in disbelief for a quick moment before her attention flew back towards Seryu with a dumbfounded look. "Is she here in this place? Is she a part of Night Raid as well?" she questioned, which immediately aroused the interest of nearly all the members of the group of assassins as they turned back their gazes to Spear.

Seryu looked down in sadness and sighed before saluting in remembrance of what happened just a few days ago. "She used to be a member of Night Raid, but it hurts me to say that she has died on a mission with another one of our comrades…"

"S-S-Sheele's… d-dead?" she repeated, looking shocked herself, prompting Najenda to speak up out of the curiosity that was haunting her.

"My, this has gotten interesting… you speak as if you know of our assassin comrade…" she said, smirking slightly. "Are you somehow related to Sheele? Now that I think about it, you really have a slight resemblance to her in terms of appearance."

Spear turned her head towards the Boss and immediately shook her head and looked at the floor. "N-No, we're not…" she muttered, looking greatly saddened by what she just heard from Seryu. "W-We were friends back then when… we were younger."

Widened eyes could be seen all over the whole room.

"No way!" exclaimed Leone.

"T-There's no way that's true!" Mine said, rising up from her chair and pointed a finger towards Spear accusingly. "S-Sheele never mentioned anything about you while she was still here!"

Tatsumi stepped forward and furrowed his eyebrows. "No wait, Sheele told me something about a friend she had in the past… she said that that friend was the only one who befriended and liked her for who she was… until the time when that friend's lover went on a rampage so Sheele had to kill him… which was also when her 'friend' left her and never showed up again… didn't Sheele tell you any of that?" he explained further for the others to understand.

"I… think she did…" said Leone with a shrug before grinning sheepishly. "I guess I'm dumb enough to forget, aren't I?"

"Tatsumi, are you saying that this girl here is the 'friend' that Sheele was talking about?" Akame asked, turning towards her lover with her usual emotionless look.

"Are you sure about that, Tatsumi?" Lubbock said, crossing his arms with a smirk plastering across his face. "I seriously doubt that the daughter of the former prime minister would be into romance at this age, much less have a boyfriend of her own."

"Lars."

"What?"

Everyone's eyes turned back to Spear upon hearing her voice once again.

Spear flashed a serious look and continued to explain further, looking up at her comrades. "I had an ex-boyfriend back then. His name was Lars. He was one of the people whom I trained alongside with at the Temple of the Imperial Fist. We became lovers after graduation but we started seeing each other less and less after it because of my duties as my father's bodyguard, which led to me breaking off our relationship. About a week later, he came back and tried to kill me for dumping him, but Sheele killed him first."

Everyone, including Najenda herself, were taken aback with Spear's words as the girl continued to tell them about her past. It turned out that after Sheele killed her ex-boyfriend, her father Chouri deemed her as a bad influence to his daughter that it led him to cutting off all possible contact between Spear and the purple-haired girl; therefore revealing that it wasn't Spear's choice to avoid Sheele like the plague after that horrible incident and if she had to be honest, she was thankful that her friend killed that crazed ex-boyfriend but she never liked the fact that she had been separated from her the purple-haired girl for the rest of her life.

"D-Damn…" Lubbock mumbled to himself.

"I… I never even knew that…" Leone said, her eyes as wide as saucers after hearing Spear's backstory with her own friend. "You were… actually friends with Sheele back then?"

Everyone else was either too surprised that they were frozen in their places, or they just didn't want to set the tension of the room themselves.

Noticing that the atmosphere was getting a bit too moody with what had just transpired, Najenda cleared her throat and began to speak again. "Well, that was certainly an eye-opener for us to know more about you Spear, but now is not the time to remember our fallen friends. Tatsumi!" she called out, and the brunette stepped forward in response.

"W-What is it, Boss?" Tatsumi said, wondering what Najenda had on her mind right now. He was still caught off guard with Spear's sudden announcement though, but he wasn't going to let it get in the way of his duties in the hideout.

"Since Spear is our newest member and you two seem to get along quite well, why don't you show her around the base? It would help her when she needs to go somewhere all alone by herself in the future." she suggested, causing Tatsumi to smile slightly.

"Sure Boss, I'm on it." he simply replied, turning around on his heel as he walked towards Spear. "Come on, let's get going. We can't just stand here all day, can we?" The blonde girl nodded despite the sadness she was feeling right now because of the sudden truth regarding the fate of her friend, feeling she was too conflicted to do anything else anyways.

As they watched the two left, Najenda was left in her thoughts, observing each member's reaction to Spear's past with Sheele and she started to think about how it would possibly lead to the next days in the hideout.

" _I can only hope that they can get along with Spear just fine…"_ she thought to herself.

 **(Two Days Later; Night Raid's Hidden Base)**

A few days have passed since Night Raid welcomed another member under its roof, and although it was a bit of an emotional roller coaster ride when she joined, it slowly started to develop into something good. The following day, Spear immediately got into training, with Tatsumi being the first to get her started. He didn't teach her anything serious, but rather a basic workout routine so she could keep her senses and skills in top shape. It was then followed by training with Akame, then a little bit from Lubbock.

Apparently, the girl was easy to get along with and she was cheerful almost all the time, like Leone. However, she was more than capable of being serious when Lubbock had tried to flirt with her, Spear literally had a spear pointed directly towards his throat. She was also kind and caring to others, shown when she offered to help both Tatsumi and Akame in preparing food. Everyone could see the slight similarities she had with Sheele in terms of personality as well, except for the fact that she wasn't an airhead.

"Finally… that stupid fever's gone." Mine muttered as she cracked her neck and outstretched her arms. Her daily baths in the hot springs were one of the key factors in speeding up her recovery, along with the medicine she took regularly. "I've been lazing around in bed and I haven't gotten anything done ever since I got sick. But now, I can fight and go out on missions again!"

Mine bolted out of the warm water, grabbed her towel and ran back towards her room. After quickly changing, Mine sprinted towards the training grounds. "I have to train harder now… I have to get stronger so we can win this war together! Tatsumi always trains hard so I need to keep up with him!"

Yes, even though she basically knew that Tatsumi was in a relationship, Mine still had a crush on him; besides, she wasn't sure if he was interested in either Akame or Leone. What she saw that night definitely got stuck in her head, and she had to find out more about it. But in the meantime, she could at least continue to admire Tatsumi from a distance, right?

Mine reached the door to the training grounds and threw it open, placing her hands on her hips afterwards. "All right, I'm all healed up from that damn fever, so can somebody spar with me!" she shouted, walking all over the area to look for somebody she could partner with.

However, Mine stopped dead in her tracks when upon seeing what was in front of her. About a few feet away from her was Lubbock and Tatsumi, both men covered in sweat as they did pushups on the ground while being shirtless. The pinkette barely noticed Lubbock, as her attention was more focused on Tatsumi, and it was for a good reason. Mine watched in fascination and her eyes slowly widened as her crush flawlessly did push-ups with Akame sitting on his back. Mine was unaware of the heavy blush that was burning her cheeks as she gazed at Tatsumi's muscles and nerves bulging with each push upwards. Him being shirtless only added to the already pleasurable sight, by the way.

"W-Wow…" she breathed out, her mouth slowly falling open in awe.

"You enjoying the view, Mine?" Leone asked with a teasing smirk, finally noticing the sniper's presence. Mine suddenly squeak in surprise at being caught red-handed in her act. Her mischievous smirk widening even further, Leone pointed to the open spot behind Akame and grinned. "Hey Mine, why don't you hop on Tatsumi's back as well? I'm sure he could handle more than one."

"I-I… uh… um…" Mine began to stutter uncontrollably as her blush darkened several shades, unsure of how to respond to Leone's statement because she was too flustered to even think about anything else.

"I'm happy to see that you're all better, Mine." Tatsumi cut her off, looking up at the pinkette with a smile as he continued his push-ups as if he wasn't really trying. "If you want some training, I'll be glad to come and help you after lunch."

Hearing Tatsumi's voice managed to snap Mine out of her stupor, and she violently shook her head to get her thoughts about the brunette out of her head. She then took a calming breath and struggled to fight back her raging blush, despite the fact that she found herself taking glances at Tatsumi almost every second. "A-Anyways, what are you guys doing?" she asked, trying her best to sound normal.

"These two guys have been going at it ever since early in the morning, so we decided to help them out." Leone said, smiling as she leaned back and looked at the sky. "Especially Tatsumi. He's been training himself into the ground for the past few days and yet he still goes for it even though I warn him so many times not to overpush himself."

"Tch, all you two have done is help Tatsumi." Lubbock said, pouting like a small child. "Neither of you have done a thing to help me, even you."

"We've been offering you motivation and moral support." Leone said as Akame nodded in agreement before she kicked his butt… literally. "Now get your scrawny ass into gear and put in some effort! Your muscles should be burning right now, and that's a good thing! But if I catch you slacking off, I'm gonna snap two of your fingers off your hands…"

"Yes, ma'am!" Lubbock yelled out of fair, speeding up the pace of his push-ups despite Leone's weight pressing down on his back.

"See, what I'd tell you? Motivation." Leone said with a toothy grin.

"Well, I have to say that it's quite strange to see you covered in sweat, Lubbock. What happened to the guy who was always about traps and waiting for the enemy?" Mine pointed out, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Well, there's only two of us guys left here…" Lubbock said, sighing deeply which caused him to slow down his pace. "So I figured I'd better start pulling my weight as well… I don't want to die anytime soon, not while I still have something worth fighting and living for."

"Good job trying to sound cool, but…" Leone said as she rose up from her sitting position on his back. Lubbock grunted in pain as Leone pressed her entire body weight into his back, nearly causing him to let go and fall to the ground. "What did I just say about slacking off?! Now, pick up the pace before I start jumping around on your back!"

"Y-Y-Yes ma'am!" Lubbock exclaimed, struggling to continue his push-ups with Leone relaxing comfortably on top of his back.

"She's really good at that." Mine muttered as she stared at Leone with intrigue. "It's like she's some kind of drill sergeant, military commander or something."

"Oh good, except for Seryu and Spear, you're all here." Najenda said, walking onto the training grounds with Sayo by her side. Upon seeing that the Boss was there, Tatsumi and Lubbock quickly stopped their workouts and started putting their clothes back on. "Where are those two, by the way?"

"I think they're out hunting some danger beasts. Spear told me that she wanted to get our dinner herself, and Seryu mentioned something about Koro being hungry for some danger beast meat." Tatsumi said nonchalantly as he put on his sweater. He then raised an eyebrow when he saw all the bags that Najenda was carrying. "What's with all the bags, boss? You going somewhere?" he asked curiously.

"I'm delivering those three teigu you captured from the Three Beasts and Incursio as well to the HQ." Najenda said as she grabbed ahold of the axe that belonged to Daidara while he was still alive.

"Be careful with that axe, boss." Tatsumi warned as he pointed at the teigu. "It's pretty heavy and I had a bit of trouble trying to bring it back here."

"Ha! This old thing is no problem!" Najenda said, easily lifting the _**Belvaac**_ with her mechanical arm. "I may not be able to use it as a weapon, but I can transport it quite easily kid."

"Wow, that's pretty awesome." Tatsumi muttered as he stared at the Boss in awe, whistling in amazement.

"I'm leaving you in charge of things here while I'm gone, Akame." the Boss said, resting the axe teigu down next to her bag as she crossed her arms. "The main focus of your strategy is to 'work together. Remember that when you're leaving for any missions while I am not here."

"I think I got it." Akame said in her usual monotone voice, nodding her head in agreement.

"While I'm at HQ, I'm also going to try and recruit some new members… even if we just got one a few days ago." Najenda said, pulling out a cigarette before lighting it. The silver-haired woman took a quick puff and released a light sigh. "Although I don't have high hopes… new recruits are gonna be hard to find, considering what our line of work is… anyway, that's all I wanted to —"

"Boss, if you don't mind, I'd like to show you something." Leone butted in, grinning cheerfully like she always did.

A small tick mark appeared on the Boss's head. "I do hope this is not about —"

"No, no, no, no, no! Trust me, this is not a joke! It's about Tatsumi, okay? There's… something you need to know about him. Or more specifically, there's something you need to know about what he did." she explained, and Tatsumi only looked at her in confusion.

"What did he do?" asked Najenda, turning her attention to the young man just behind her.

"Well, remember when we were on our mission to save the former minister and Spear? I actually did nothing to beat those two bastards that killed Sheele and Bulat. It was all Tatsumi, and he beat them both down with just one blast, and he basically murdered them if it was being watched from a distance." she continued to explain, and that was when the brunette knew just what she was talking about.

" _Damn it, she had to bring that up?! Oh well, this would at least give me their help in finding out what the hell's wrong with my teigu…"_ he thought to himself, turning his gaze to _**Starfall**_ , which was just lying near their location since he brought it with them when he started training for the day.

"Oh, really? Well, that seems indeed interesting…" Najenda said, nodding her head several times. "How did he do it exactly?"

Leone turned towards Tatsumi and patted his shoulder. "You're up!" she exclaimed before marching towards his teigu, picking it up and handing it back to him. "Go do the same thing you did that day, Tatsumi! Show 'em what you got!"

"Uhm, I don't even know if I can really do that…" he muttered, grinning in embarrassment. "I don't think I was even in, uh… control of myself when that happened and… well, you can't possibly expect me to do that kind of thing here, Leone! I could destroy the hideout!" he said, looking alarmed before Leone directed his gaze towards the sky.

"There, you won't be hurting anyone while you're looking up… now, go and point your attack towards there!" she said, placing her hands on her hips as she smirked. Tatsumi however, still didn't do anything and simply kept his gaze on his blonde-haired lover.

"Leone, you know that I don't like my time getting wasted…" Najenda warned, tapping her foot on the ground out of impatience.

"Just wait, okay? Please, I got this." Leone replied, walking over towards her boyfriend before flashing him a serious look. "Tatsumi, I don't know what's taking you so long, but you have to do that laser beam thing again, now. It's best to show the others what you can do, and who knows? We can train you even harder so you could focus on controlling it because it looked uncontrollable the first time you did it."

"B-But I —" he tried to object, only for Leone to raise her hand up to silence him.

"You can do it, okay? Fine, let me help a bit. When you used that laser beam against those two bastards, what did you feel? What caused you to feel that way? Because from how I see it, you were really angry at that giant guy since you two had a loud fight between words when he spoke badly about Bulat and Sheele. So basically, what were your feelings that time? Try doing it again without actual enemies this time." she said, finishing her explanation as she stepped away from him.

"O-Okay, I'll try…" he muttered to himself, taking a deep breath as he tightened his grasp on _**Starfall**_ and looked up at the sky. Everyone there at the training grounds all had their eyes on him, the attention clearly focused towards Tatsumi.

" _My feelings that time… I was… I felt angry when that punk insulted Aniki and Sheele… and then I… I suddenly went out of control… maybe I could, — NO!"_ he began to shake his head in denial. " _No, I am not going to disrespect their memory by imagining them again! They're already in peace, I don't want to go back and remember what horrible things… I need to think of something else… what could make me angry in the same way?"_

His eyes then began to glow yellow upon imagining the current prime minister in his mind.

" _Yeah…"_

Tatsumi held his sword with both his hands as he gritted his teeth.

" _Yes… of course… it's all because of him… Ieyasu is gone because of him…"_

Everyone who was there at the moment were already looking shocked with what was happening to Tatsumi; his eyes were yellow as if he had just been possessed, and not only that, his sword was also starting to glow yellow, similar to the color of the light that would take over when he flies through the air.

" _He's the reason behind all this… Aniki… and Sheele… they're gone because of him… he must die…"_

Tatsumi then got bathed in bright light, forcing the others to cover their eyes and move away slightly from him. However, Akame was getting worried and tried to force her way through the blinding light to stop her lover from whatever he was trying to do, but Leone kept a strong hand on her shoulder as she shook her head, telling her that they should wait for what was going to happen.

" _I'll kill him… I'll kill him! I'LL KILL HIM!"_

"RAAAAAGGGGHHHH!" Tatsumi screamed aloud as the bright light surrounding him all over died down a little bit, letting himself be seen by everyone once again. This caused most of them to sigh in relief until they saw the brunette point his sword upwards to the sky, just like what Leone had told him to.

"What is he doing?" Lubbock asked, covering his face with both of his arms since the light was simply too bright for him.

"Check it out for yourself!" Leone laughed, pointing towards _**Starfall**_ , which was already glowing along with his whole body.

" _ **Heavenly Blast!"**_ he yelled out, a massive yellow energy beam shooting out of the sword itself as it headed towards the sky in a continuous stream. Everybody else at the training grounds watched in awe and shock as they watched Tatsumi unleash this particular attack, as they had never seen anything like this in their lifetime. Heck, Najenda had witnessed many teigu users in her past life and it was fair that there was nothing like what Tatsumi just did.

"Unbelievable…" Mine mumbled, her mouth dropping open in awe of what Tatsumi was doing.

"See?! I told ya he can do it!" Leone grinned, placing her hands on her hips as she cheered her lover on. "This is gonna be perfect to use against killer-deadly enemies, you know! Especially the prime minister! He ain't gonna stand a chance against this!"

" _I have never seen anything like this before…"_ Najenda commented, crossing her arms as she watched in fascination.

However, the minutes slowly passed, the yellow light that covered his body started to dissipate and the energy beam that _**Starfall**_ was unleashing had also started to become smaller and smaller.

"Wait, why is it becoming smaller and smaller? Did something happen?" Mine asked, looking genuinely confused watching everything that was happening in front of her.

"He might have already reached his limit and his body can't take it anymore…" Lubbock said as he furrowed his eyebrows. "We have to be ready for what's about to happen."

The moment Tatsumi's eyes had returned to normal, his teigu was already back in its original form and the laser beam had fully disappeared from sight. But unlike the first time that he did this, Tatsumi suddenly felt light-headed for a moment as he started to lose balance. He scowled and gritted his teeth upon feeling himself get attacked by a minor headache, and Akame had to rush forward to make her move.

"Tatsumi!" she called out, catching the young man in her arms as she let him sit down on the grass. He slowly looked behind him and saw his lover with a look of worry on her face. "Are you okay?"

"A-Akame?" he muttered, looking confused as he closed his eyes to fight off the pain of the headache he felt. He then looked around him, seeing all the shocked looks on their faces that even included Leone's and the Boss. Unknown to him, the sun tattoo had already appeared on his right palm, but with seven rays instead of eight; it was the same as how it looked after he did the exact same thing a few days ago.

And then from seven rays, another one suddenly faded into his skin and thus, six were left. However, Tatsumi was too caught up looking at the others that he didn't even notice this little detail on his hand. A few more seconds later, the little tattoo had stopped glowing and finally disappeared from sight once again.

Leone suddenly came running over with an alarmed look on her face. "Tatsumi! What happened? This didn't happen to you when we rescued Spear, right?" He shook his head slowly and she hugged him tight, muttering 'Sorry' over and over again as Akame kept on helping him relax a bit since he was having headaches. Tatsumi, although he shouldn't be speaking right now, kept his attention towards the Boss before he finally spoke up.

"Boss?" he called out. "H-How was that?"

Hearing Tatsumi's voice managed to snap Najenda out of her little trance as she cleared her throat and looked at the young man in return. "Tatsumi, I don't know much about your teigu, and what you did earlier completely caught me off guard." she spoke out, stomping on her cigarette on the ground. "But I would suggest that you never use it again. No, that's not it. I don't want you to use it again, Tatsumi."

Upon hearing those words, Tatsumi looked shocked as he felt his headache leave all of a sudden, allowing him to be back to his normal self. "W-What? Why, Boss? This was just a little headache, I can handle it!"

Unfortunately for him, Najenda didn't answer on of his next questions as she picked up her bags along with _**Belvaac**_ , before continuing on her way. Giving her assassins one last wave, the Boss made her way out of Night Raid's base, still ignoring Tatsumi's questions as she disappeared from sight.

 _"Even if they train and get stronger… we're still dangerously short on manpower since Bulat is gone… and based on what Leone has found out, Esdeath is creating a security squad of teigu users… so we have to do something, otherwise they'll overpower us and we won't be able to fight back against them."_

Her mind flew to the events just earlier, remembering how Tatsumi unleashed a devastating laser beam into the sky before he got ruined by a damn headache.

" _And from what happened today, Tatsumi indeed has a teigu that is mysterious even to the owner himself and is capable of dealing an energy beam to incapacitate an opponent… at the cost of a heavy price. I fear that this is not going to lead to Tatsumi being alive and well in the end… it might lead to his demise…"_

* * *

 **(Same Time; Capital Cemetery)**

"Liver. Nyau. Daidara..." Esdeath muttered, staring at the three graves before her. "You were all weak, so you lost. The weak must be picked off and eliminated..." Esdeath crouched down and gently caressed the white cross on Nyau's grave. "My helpless servants...and it's because you were so helpless...that I will avenge you." Taking one last glance at the three graves, Esdeath stood back up. "The new teigu users should be arriving today. The minister said he managed so find six fighters, but apparently they're all lower ranked. I don't know what type of people these teigu wielders will be..." A sadistic smile suddenly spread across Esdeath's face. "But I think I'll have a great bit of fun with them."

Standing up from the ground, she then turned around to look at the person who had informed her of her Three Beasts' demise. The young man was standing in nervousness, as he was in the presence of the strongest general in the empire, and he was clothed in a black, high-collared jacket with dark brown pants and black shoes.

Esdeath's eyes flew towards the golden ring on his right hand, and she couldn't help but smirk. "This one looks like nothing more than an ordinary soldier, but I have the feeling that he has potential. And that ring on his finger… it looks just like an ordinary piece of jewellery, but I can sense that it is holding great power within it… hmm, the minister had only gathered a total of five people with teigus for the security team I'm planning to put together… I think there's enough room for one more." she thought to herself, beginning to walk towards the red-haired man.

The young soldier looked terrified in his place, feeling the icy cold presence of the general as she walked closer towards him. He was wondering whether he should either run away before she could get to him or bow to her, since she was a high-ranking military officer after all. Eventually, he decided to show his respect and bowed his head when she was in mere meters away from him.

"There is no need for you to do that, young man." she spoke, causing him to look up before standing up straight in his place again, looking extremely nervous as he was too afraid to even breathe normally in front of Esdeath. Surely she must be angry with him because he was the one who had reported to her on what became of her Three Beasts, and she didn't look entirely pleased that time.

Maybe she was here to let out her stress on him?

"I will not hurt you, so there is no need for you to be afraid." Esdeath said with a slight smirk, amused by his expression and reaction to her. It only proved that she was truly a force to be reckoned with.

"Y-You're not?" he stuttered out with a fearful expression, and Esdeath only nodded in response. "You're not… angry that I… that I told you… Mr. Daidara and his comrades died in battle, General?" he asked again, clasping his hands together and pursed his lips tight.

"No… they were all weak, so they died in battle. You weren't at fault here. And it only proves that the enemies of the empire are worthy of a good fight, so that is what I'll give them." she replied, before she turned her gaze towards his ring again. The blue-haired woman had a strong feeling that it's more than just a simple ring, and now was the right time to find out. "I must say, I am curious. That is a highly unusual ring on your finger… may I ask where did you possibly acquire it?"

"This?" he said, holding up his right hand so his little accessory could be seen, and Esdeath could see its unique design, as well as the dark orange jewel in its centerplate. "Uhm, well… I don't really know, General… but I do remember seeing something bright and orange-looking at the bottom of the Grand canal when…" he turned his head to look at the name at one of the graves. "M-Mr. Liver died and… I honestly have no idea how this got into my finger. But for some reason…" he tried pulling it off for a few moments, but it didn't even move a bit. "I-I can't take it off… even when I tried using some soap."

"Interesting… he found it in a body of water… and it won't come off when he tried to take it off…" a sinister look spread across Esdeath's face upon putting two-and-two together. "Then it must mean… there is a chance that I am correct. What he has right now is a teigu, and its abilities seem to be unknown as of the moment. However, I think that can change once I properly see it for myself…"

Turning her attention back to the red-haired man, Esdeath flashed a small smile. "I see… may I have your name, soldier?"

He looked a bit alarmed for a quick second, standing upright once again as he saluted to her. "Oh! Uh, Ren Ozaki of the Imperial Guard! I'm at your service, General!" he said in an enthusiastic tone, not wanting to act lazy in front of Esdeath.

"All right. Well then, Ren…" she said, and the guard could only gulp in nervousness at what she was going to say to him.

"W-What is it, General?"

"How would you like to fight for the Empire under my command?"

* * *

 _ **Spear is Sheele's friend in the past. Boom. I know that she is not really her friend but hey, since there was no name revealed regarding who was that particular friend, I can manipulate that bit and use it to my advantage.**_

 _ **Tatsumi uses another special attack, now 20 years are lost from his life. Damn it, buddy… stop showing off!**_

 _ **Esdeath speaks with Ren, who just made a comeback and offers him a chance to fight as a part of the Jaegers! Will he accept or not? Time to find out, huh?**_

 _ **Harem: Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **If you want to catch up with me and your other favorite writers, join our Discord server:**_

[discord . gg / uDxVym8]

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	16. Kill the Fire

_**6th freakin' update in a row. XD (My birthday's on Tuesday!)**_

"Normal Talking"

 _"Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters…**_

* * *

 **(Two Hours Later; Capital's Main Street)**

"So this is the capital, eh?" Wave said, gazing in awe at the sprawling buildings spread out in front of him. "I can't believe I was lucky enough to get promoted to the Empire's security squad. I thought I'll be stuck in the navy my whole life." Wave grinned in amusement as he glanced down at his clothes, smiling as he thought about his choice of attire. "I'm glad I was able to wear my best clothes so I won't stick out as some country boy around here. Mom even packed me a good lunch full of tasty seafood!"

However, the blue-haired man suddenly frowned when he overheard several people whispering behind his back, particularly all bad things about him.

"What a loser…"

"Yeah, he's totally a country bumpkin… he has no idea what's in store for him here…"

"He even tried to hide it from us, how lame… we've already seen that trick before, and it didn't work. So don't try doing it again…"

"Ah what the hell…" Wave muttered, as he perked back up, once again filled with with enthusiasm as he grinned widely. "I've battled pirates and the sea's most fearsome danger beasts. It'll take more than this to actually bother me."

"What a weirdo, he keeps talking to himself like that…"

"Yeah, he'll never get a girlfriend if he keeps that up…"

"Okay, that last one honestly hurt a little…" Wave said in a dejected tone, hanging his head in defeat before looking up once again. "Hopefully I'll be able to get to the palace soon."

After walking for roughly more than half an hour, Wave found himself standing in front of a room in the capital's palace. "Well, what do you know? I managed to find this place quicker than I thought it would be… and looks like this is where I'm supposed to meet the guys I'll be working with in the security squad." Taking a calming breath, Wave reached for the doorknob with a determined look. "First impressions are very important when meeting new people… I have to make sure that they respect me as a comrade and they don't underestimate my power!"

With a large smile on his face, the young man energetically threw the door open and began to speak in a loud voice. "Hello everyone! I'm Wave! I came from the Imperial Na…vy…"

He stopped dead in his own words when he noticed that the room was completely empty… except for one man sitting at the room's only table in the middle. It could be told from a distance that the man was a large person and he also wore a frightening gas mask that could scare the shit out of anybody.

"S-Sorry!" A chill ran down Wave's spine as he slammed the door shut behind him. Wave sunk to the ground in the hallway, his body covered in cold sweat as he remembered what he just saw inside the room. "T-That had to be the torture master's room, right? That guy looked terrifying as hell!" Out of fear, he reached into his pack and pulled out a piece of paper. "Let's see here… I'm supposed to go to room 208 for the security squad's meeting…"

" _Wait a second…"_ he thought to himself.

Looking up at the door behind him, Wave's eyes widened when he saw that it was indeed room 208. "Okay… this is the right room… but we're supposed to meet here at 2:30… okay, maybe I'm a little early and that guy is in there for another reason… maybe another meeting or something." However, that wasn't the case as his mouth hung open when he spotted the clock on the wall across the hallway from him. "Shit, it's 2:30 right now! Wait… then that means… that guy's attending the meeting! What in the actual fuck?! Even pirates dress a lot more normal than that!" Wave groaned and ran his hand down his face, sighing deeply. "Great, now he's probably gonna think I'm some kind of insensitive asshole when I walk back in there." Releasing a heavy sigh, Wave got back onto his feet with his head hanging low. "I guess I'll just do my best not to irritate him… otherwise, I'm dead before the meeting even starts."

Walking back in the room, Wave took a seat on the other end of the table quietly… far away from the strange man so the atmosphere around him wouldn't be awkward. "H-Hello." he said, at least as a greeting so that it wouldn't be rude of him. However, the mystery man said absolutely nothing and he simply stared at Wave… as if he was looking right into his soul.

 _"What the fuck is going on?!"_ Wave thought as he began sweating buckets in nervousness. His hands tightly gripped his pants and he could still feel the weird man staring at him, his gaze burning a hole in the middle of his forehead and leaving its mark. _"Why won't this guy stop staring at me!? Argh, this isn't good enough! I want to go home already! I'm not strong enough to sail through the capital's raging waters!"_

However, Wave seemed to be saved when the door opened, earning his attention. Turning around, the blue-haired man was overcome with relief when he spotted a young dark-haired girl walk into the room with a neutral look on her face. "Thank goodness… it's just a normal girl!" The new girl eyed both men for a moment before she took a seat at the table across Wave, dropping a small sack full of candy on it. He then noticed that the side of the bag was labeled 'Kurome's Candies.' He blushed lightly as he watched the girl start to nibble on the sweets. _"So her name is Kurome… wow… she's pretty cute…"_

Mustering up some courage left in his chest, Wave stood up from his seat and walked over to the girl. "H-Hey…" The young man felt extremely nervous as he waved awkwardly at Kurome in greeting. "You're here because you're a teigu wielder as well, right? My name is Wave —"

"I'm not letting you lay a finger on my candy." The dark-haired girl said, clutching the bag of sweets closer to her chest. Her glare was so piercing that it eventually caused Wave to recoil in fear, stepping back a few times to recompose himself.

 _"Damn it, she's another weirdo too! Why do the cute ones have to be this way?!"_ Releasing a sigh of defeat, Wave walked back to his seat and practically dumped himself on it. "I'm sorry for bothering you." he said in a voice loud enough for only the girl to hear. He hung his head in defeat yet again before gritting his teeth in irritation. _"What the hell?! That girl there is silently shoveling candy in her mouth like it's her last day here… not gonna be my fault when her teeth eventually fall out, then…"_ Wave suddenly gulped in nervousness and quietly glanced at the masked man out of the corner of his eye. _"And that freak is still staring at me! What the heck is going on here?!"_

"Excuse me!"

The blue-haired man was cut off from his thoughts when the door to the room opened again. Turning in his chair, Wave was surprised to see another young man like him enter the room. The newcomer had dark-red hair, and was wearing a high-collared jacket along with dark brown pants. Wave also took notice of the distinct ring he had on his right hand.

 _"Another guy… he looks pretty cool…"_ Wave thought as the new guy looked at his surroundings nervously. " _Hmm, what do you know? We finally got someone normal here other than me! I hope this is for real and there's no stupid joke around this or anything…"_

"Good morning to you all!" The young man said as he saluted. "I'm Ren Ozaki of the Imperial Guard! It's an honor to meet all of my comrades whom I will fight alongside with in the future!" Wave was surprised when he went to sit beside Kurome after his introduction, showing that there was nothing really weird about him and proving his earlier point.

While Wave was left thinking in his place, the door on the side of the room opened and it suddenly started to raining rose petals all over the place. A tall black-haired man walked inside the room, making his presence known. "Taking care of one's first impressions… is the most stylish of all etiquettes… a man can possibly have." Dr. Stylish said dramatically, observing the room as he walked through the lane of petals on the floor.

 _"Oh, just when I had some faith… some pretty boy comes in to ruin everything_ … _just kill me now…"_ Wave thought as his head slammed onto the table. _"Looks like I was wrong about the masked dude, because this guy is now officially the weirdest freak in the room."_

"Oh my." Stylish said, looking at Wave as he adjusted his glasses. "Looks like we have ourselves a little country boy, and a mighty handsome one at that. Oh, we also have a fine young teenager here who is brimming with style… I think I'll… no actually, I think I'll just have both of you." Wave's skin crawled when Stylish suddenly licked his lips, while Ren did nothing since he wasn't really paying attention to what was happening. "Don't worry, I'll fix you two right away. I oh so look forward to it badly."

 _"Try coming near me like that and I'll have to kill you."_ Wave thought, glaring at Stylish. Taking extra precaution, Wave moved his chair as far away from Stylish as possible before slumping his head down on the table to get at least a few minutes of time to himself. _"Let's see you get to me now, pretty boy!"_

"What a shame… it looks like I'll be dealing with this fine gentleman instead." Stylish said, walking closer towards Ren and as soon as he laid a hand on the man's shoulder, the doctor got spun around immediately before he felt a sharp blade pointed towards his throat. Wave's eyes widened slightly at how quick the redhead reacted while the other two were still at the table, apparently not paying attention to what just happened.

" _Damn… this guy's fast…"_ Wave thought in slight awe.

Realizing his mistake, Ren moved away from Stylish and returned his knife back in his pants' pocket before bowing his head in shame. "Forgive me! I was trained as a soldier on how to react instinctively when a hostile force makes contact with me." he said, walking back towards his chair while leaving a scowling Stylish behind him.

" _This guy's good… he seems like a cool dude to hang out with…"_ the blue-haired man said to himself, glad that there really was somebody else in this room who was pretty much normal just like him.

"Hello." Turning his head from Ren and back towards the door, Wave spotted a blonde haired man smiling at everyone. "It looks as if I'm the last one to arrive. I apologize for my tardiness."

"H-Hello." he said warily, mentally preparing himself for anything that this new freak could possibly do so that he wouldn't be haunted again by dudes in freaky masks or black-haired homosexuals. "Nice to meet you. My name's Wave."

"Hello, good sir!" said Ren, standing up from his seat to salute to the newcomer. "I'm Ren Ozaki of the Imperial Guard and it is an honor to fight alongside you!"

"How delightful. I'm Run." The man said sincerely, which shocked Wave again. So far, this newcomer appeared to be the most normal person here along with Ren (although the red-haired man saluting almost every second seemed a bit out of place) and their squad might not even be complete yet. "I look forward to working with you and everyone else here."

 _"Well at least, there's a few normal dudes in here… I think I can live with that."_ he thought to himself, releasing a heavy sigh of relief.

"Um… everyone… I've made us all some tea." Wave's jaw nearly hit the floor when he saw the masked man placing down several cups of tea on the table for everyone. Wave's eyes widened he handed him his tea, and he could be heard laughing in nervousness under his mask. "I'm sorry about what happened before. I was the first one who got here, but I didn't say anything to you. You see, I'm actually really shy… I got so nervous when you came in and I couldn't think of anything to say to you. But more or less, I'm probably the oldest one here, so I shouldn't be acting like a child around everyone."

Wave only nodded dumbly as the masked man shook his hand. "I look forward to working with you, Wave. My name is Bols, and I'm from the Incineration Squad."

 _"To think… he was just being shy… yep… totally weird…"_ the blue-haired man thought, chuckling nervously. _"The Incineration Squad, huh? I guess that explains that creepy gas mask."_

As Bols and Wave continued to speak, Dr. Stylish curiously eyed the Incineration Squad member. "So he's from the Incineration Squad? A unit that lights up people, buildings, and basically anything that stands against them. Hmmm, he's not really my type." he shook his head dismissively as he sat next to Kurome by the end of the table.

Just then, the door to the room opened once again and everyone was surprised to see General Esdeath walk into the room. "Ah good, you're all here." Esdeath said, walking up to the table. Releasing a light sigh, she then tossed a mask onto the table and spoke once again. "I was planning on surprising all of you and test out each of your skills, you know, to really spice this meeting up. But since we are running behind schedule, we'll have to get going. So everyone, head into the next room and get changed. I'll explain everything as we go."

No one really understood what was happening at the moment, but they didn't wish to upset someone as fearsome and deadly as Esdeath. So without another word, everyone immediately got out of their seats and went into the neighboring room. A few minutes later, everyone came out of the room wearing black suits and ties, taking a more formal look.

"Good, and I must say, you all clean up rather well." Esdeath said, now dressed in a suit and tie like her companions. "Now, we'll have a proper meet-and-greet once we've had our audience with the emperor."

"We're meeting the emperor so soon!?" Wave exclaimed in shock. "I haven't even been in the capital a single day!"

"General, what should we do once we get there?" Ren asked, genuinely confused with what he should do since this was literally the first time he would be talking to the emperor himself.

"I like to take care of all the boring and troublesome things first." Esdeath said, leading the group through the palace. "Don't fret too much, it won't be very long. As for what you should do, just act normal and let me talk. Unless you are spoken to, do not attempt to say a word. Understand?"

Everyone nodded, but only Ren answered through words. "Yes, General." he said, bowing his head in respect.

"General Esdeath…" Stylish said, resting his head on his hand. "Does our little team have a special name? Simply being called the 'Empire's security squad' is quite boring, if I must say."

"I'm so glad you asked." Esdeath said, a sadistic smirk spreading across her face. "All of us possess a rather… 'unique' skill set. Some have already been mastered, while some are waiting to be unleashed and reach their full potential. We'll work together and hunt down bands of wicked terrorists and criminals… and so… we are the capital's security squad… the Jaegers."

* * *

 **(Three Hours Later)**

"I'm so glad that I saved the seafood for later…" Wave said as he helped Bols prepare a large meal for everyone to eat. "This is going to be the perfect welcome meal for us all."

"Wave…" Bols said, pointing to the vegetables in Wave's hand. "The spinach goes in last. If you put it in now, it'll wilt. You need to learn the importance of the vegetables in a dish."

"Heh, sorry bout that." Wave said as he set the spinach down and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I gotta say… I'm so relieved you're such a nice guy, Bols. I never expected you to be like this, to be honest."

"I'm…" Bols muttered, roughly cutting the head off of one of the fish Wave had brought. "Not nice at all… if you knew all the things that I've seen and done all my life… you wouldn't say that about me."

In the next room, the rest of the Jaegers were patiently waiting for Bols and Wave to finish cooking so they could finally eat. Run and Stylish were talking to each other in one corner of the room, Kurome was still eating her candies, and Ren looked like he was talking to himself or he was just thinking deeply.

"General…" said Ren, looking over towards Esdeath. "I'm a bit curious, what exactly do you like to do in your free time? I may learn something from you so I can be stronger than before."

"Hunting and torture." Esdeath replied nonchalantly, taking a small sip of her wine. "Or studying up on either one. However, I would advise you not to follow in my footsteps soldier. You might just regret it." Esdeath smiled as she set the glass back down. "At the moment though… I'd like to find love."

Both Ren and Kurome appeared to be quite surprised by Esdeath's answer because neither of them would ever expect a woman with Esdeath's reputation to be worried about something as trivial as love. "Oh, by the way Ren, it is more or less obvious that all of us are somehow familiar with our teigus, and that leaves you as the only one who isn't." she continued, causing all eyes in the room to dart towards him.

"W-What do you mean by that, General?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"Why, I am simply referring to that exotic ring on your finger." she pointed out, looking at the accessory on the soldier's hand. "It is a teigu and even you have no idea how to use it or even unleash its power."

"T-This thing?" he said, looking at the ring on his hand. Being a soldier of the Imperial Guard, he knew all about the nature of teigus and the basic facts about a few. "General, what makes you sure that this little thing is a t-teigu? I don't even know what it does or how it got here on my finger in the first place."

"Exactly. You don't know what it does, yet surprisingly, it is on your finger. Since you look perfectly normal even while you are wearing that, it must mean that you are the owner of it and it will answer to you alone."

"General Esdeath… how can you be sure that it really is a teigu?" asked Dr. Stylish. "I have never seen one before that is in the form of a simple ring."

"Are you saying that I am wrong?" she asked dangerously, and Stylish immediately shook his head in response. "Fine, I shall explain a bit. I can feel that the ring on his finger is holding back great power within. I don't even recognize this ring in a book containing various information on Imperial Arms." She then walked towards the red-haired man and smirked. "Tell me, Ren. Do you wish to become stronger? If so, how far are you willing to go to get what you want?"

A cold bead of sweat ran down his back as he gulped nervously. "Y-Yes of course, General!" he blurted out, nodding furiously as he suddenly gained a small boost of confidence. "I want to become stronger to prove myself worthy to my family, my friends, and to the empire! And I'll do anything to make that happen! Even if my whole life is at stake!"

"Ah, you seek acknowledgement…" Esdeath said in amusement. "Well, I believe it is time to find out just what that mysterious ring is capable of. After we have this meal, let's see what you can really do under that soldier's armor, Ren Ozaki…"

The redhead couldn't help but feel nervous while everyone else were now looking at him with interest, especially towards the ring on his finger.

 **(One Hour Later; Palace's Training Grounds)**

After the newly-formed Jaegers had a pleasurable lunch courtesy of Wave and Bols, Esdeath explained that their first task would be helping Ren awaken his teigu, as she wanted her team to be at the top of their game when they encounter an enemy, no matter how many they were. Although some of them doubted that Ren's ring was could actually be a teigu, Esdeath remained confident in her reasons.

"General, I don't think I can do this…" Ren said, standing in the middle of the training grounds with multiple dummies set up around him. Not far away from the sidelines were Esdeath and the rest of his team, watching him closely. "This ring is not going ti do anything against this!"

"Yes you can, even if I have to torture every single part of your body to do it." Esdeath said, summoning an icicle before hurling it towards Ren.

With his heightened reflexes, the redhead reacted immediately and quickly jumped to the side in order to avoid the icicle. Fearing that the general was going too far, he began to run away out of the area in fear of his life, only for his path to get blocked by a huge chunk of ice.

" _Oh no!"_ he thought to himself, quickly heading to the opposite direction to get out of there, only for another chunk of ice to block his way. " _This isn't good! I need to —"_ just when he was about to turn his attention to the side, two more slabs of ice were already there, completely preventing him from escaping and locking him in a cage of some sort. "G-General!" he cried aloud, fear taking over him. "Are you trying to get rid of me? Is this your way of killing me?" he asked.

"I am not trying to kill you, soldier." Esdeath spoke, narrowing her eyes. "This is how I'm going to force you on unleashing that hidden power inside you, and you need that to get out of the ice prison. I will not have someone working under me to be as weak as an ordinary soldier."

"General, aren't you being a little too hard on Ren?" Wave asked out of concern, a bit worried about the red-haired man.

"Do you wish to be put inside a cage as well?" Esdeath asked icily, turning towards Wave with a sadistic smirk on her face, and the young man backed away out of fear.

"No, no, no, no, no, no…" he said quickly, furiously shaking his head to escape the blue-haired woman's wrath while he still had the chance.

"General, I can't do it! What else do you ask of me?!" Ren shouted from inside the wall of ice. "Please, let's just stop this! I'm going to freeze to death here since it's so cold! I told you before, this ring isn't a teigu at all! I don't want to die —!" he was then cut off when another chunk of ice got dropped on top of the other four, completely encasing him inside the cage.

"I am not trying to kill you, soldier. I am teaching you to tap into your full potential. From the looks of it, what you need is encouragement. You need something to motivate and encourage you to get out of that prison. Think deeply before you try anything or you'll die." she said, crossing her arms.

* * *

Something to encourage me? What the heck did she mean by that? Goddamnit, woman! Just stop this nonsense and let me go already!

"General, what are you talking about exactly?" I said, forcing my voice to continue being at its loudest, gritting my teeth as I started to feel cold. It was only a matter of time before I'm going to start shivering as well.

"Think about the most important thing in your life. What do you treasure the most? What do you live for? Who do you live for? Since you are a soldier for the empire, you must have been so close to dying many times. What is the reason why you choose to stay alive until now?" she said in amusement, and I could tell that she was enjoying this.

Damn this woman and her sadism, I should've known that she'd act like this despite us being on the same team together.

Of course, I can't say that out loud or she'll kill me.

I value my life too, after all.

All right, fine. I'll roll along with her and whatever she was asking for… maybe, just maybe, she was telling the truth and I could save my own skin from freezing.

Okay, okay… now what did she say again? The most important thing in my life? Hmm, that's kind of a hard question… if only, I could think about my family, but that's way off. I know to myself that deep down, I hate them for looking down on me, despite the fact that they were supposed to be the ones who'll stick by my side until the end. They were supposed to protect me, keep me happy and safe until I was old enough to take care of my own self. And instead, they send me to the capital to go 'toughen' myself up and so I can earn money for them.

I scoffed a bit, feeling my words turn into nothing but cold air. This place is slowly freezing and I hugged myself to try and apply body heat to my own skin.

Come on, think! The most important thing in my life! Damn it, why must I go through this?! I'm only 19 and I don't know what I treasure above all?! Fuck this, I'm really going to die…

I clenched my fist and I stared at the useless piece of crap on my finger. Tch, why did I have to get stuck with this thing? Yeah right, teigu my ass. Hidden power? Did the general really think that there was more to me than just being a soldier?

And then… the orange gemstone started glowing.

I blinked once. Nothing happened. I blinked twice. There was nothing else except for the ring starting to glow like it did that day… that day when Mr. Daidara died and he gave me a mission to catch some black-hair lady… that day when I met that beautiful girl…

 _Beautiful girl…_

I still remember her. Her long black hair that reached the back of her knees… wait, how would it feel like if I comb her own locks with my hands? Heh, it'd probably be good… I don't even need to question it! Hang on, that's not the only thing I liked about her, though. Her face was also one of a kind, and I don't think anyone in the world could possibly be as beautiful as her. She was… okay, she was like an angel in my eyes.

Wait, speaking of eyes, her eyes were one of the things I like about her above all else. They were as red as the blood shed in war, yet it only complimented her whole look. It made her more unique, and it made her more beautiful than she already is.

I smiled, just by remembering her face, I couldn't even feel the cold anymore and it was like I was numb to the dropping temperature here. I fell to my knees as I remembered that fateful day… when we passed by each other and how she looked at me with such intensity that I could feel my soul being watched that time… heh, I wouldn't mind that happening to be honest.

Now that you mention it, I want her to —

Wait, why am I seeing her in my mind again? I told myself to focus on my mission, right? Oh… well… yes, I am not on a mission right now and… argh, all right fine! She's too beautiful for my tastes, anyway. I'm way out of her league, and I think she's a serious one, just by the expression that she had on her face. Heh, I pity any man who could stand up to her then.

While I was laughing out of happiness, I finally managed to calm myself down after about a minute full of humor. Hm, just thinking about her face makes my heart beat so fast…

I want to meet her again. Yes, that seems like a good idea... I wonder where and when I can see her, though. It's not everyday that you get to —

Hang on, why do I feel something's smoking around here? It smells close, but I feel that a fire's going to break out anytime soon.

Wait a second… t-that smell is coming from in front of me!

I turned my head to the front and my eyes immediately caught sight of my own hands. They were… smoking? What the heck is going on? Looking at the ring on my hand, I noticed that it was still glowing brightly, but that was not what caught my attention.

My hand was starting to become red, not because I was punching the ice or something like that. Smoke was emitting from it, and I wasn't doing anything right now except for the fact that I'm hugging my own self as I sat because I was stuck in a damn prison if ice, and I can freeze to death at any moment!

Wait, freeze to death?

I can't even feel the cold anymore.

I took a look at my surroundings and I furrowed my eyebrows; something weird was going on here, but I'm going to try and stand up. It's getting painful for my legs to keep supporting me here.

And to my surprise, I managed to stand up without even trying! How is this happening? Earlier, I was having trouble to even resist the cold! My eyes went to the ring again, observing it closely. Perhaps… perhaps… what if the general was right? Maybe this thing really is a teigu?

Well, think about it.

It's glowing right now like it did back then, and I had nothing on me right now that could possibly warm me up and cause smoke to come out of my own hand. That leaves this ring as the only thing that could possibly do that, and if it really can, that might be the proof that this really is a teigu. Okay, calm down. I need to figure out how to make this ring do something else other than —

My eyes widened.

My hand suddenly burst into flames.

* * *

"General, this is going nowhere. The poor man might be already dying inside of that cage." said Stylish, pushing his glasses up.

"If that's the case, let him die. He is too weak to even join us, let alone fight for the empire." Esdeath replied icily. "It has been two minutes, yet he hasn't done anything and hasn't spoken again. I'll increase the temperature of the ice so this would be quick."

"That would kill him a lot sooner, General." Wave pointed out.

"And it will also force him to make a move. If he can do something to save himself from this which involves the ring on his hand, then I will get the result I wanted. However, if he dies in there, it is not my fault for being weak." she said, increasing the temperature of her ice.

Once again, all their attention was focused on the ice prison that Esdeath had created earlier. Another minute passed, yet there was still no sign of Ren and he didn't even speak anymore. Right now, they were either waiting for him to somehow get out of that cage or waiting for the general to inform them if the poor soldier is already dead.

Then all of a sudden, Esdeath's smirk grew which eventually turned into a full-blown evil grin.

"General, what's wrong?" asked Kurome as she gobbled up another one of her candies from her sack.

"It appears I was right after all…" she replied, chuckling evilly. "That ring on his finger… it looks like we all have teigus on our side. And since we have no clue on what his Imperial Arms might be, it'll be fun studying his ring during my free time."

"General, what are you talking about?" asked Wave before they heard something crack in the distance.

Everyone's eyes turned back towards the ice as they witnessed Esdeath's own creation start to melt slowly. Near the center of the ice prison, there was a little spot that started to glow red from the inside as it cracked a bit.

"Well done, soldier." Esdeath commented as the other Jaegers widened their eyes at what they saw.

A human hand that was coated in flames just made it out of the ice.

* * *

 **(The Next Morning; Night Raid's Hidden Base** )

"Thanks for doing some target practice and sparring with me Tatsumi." Mine said, slinging _**Pumpkin**_ over her shoulder after an hour of training. "I still feel a bit off because I just recovered from my fever, but that definitely helped."

"No problem Mine, you've been out of action for a while so I know you needed to get some training in. Besides, I like training with you as well." Tatsumi shrugged as he put away his practice sword, missing the blush on the pinkette's cheeks when he said that he liked training with her. "You're swordsmanship and hand-to-hand fighting skills might have dipped a little, but you're still an amazing shooter. It'd be a miracle for me if I ever catch up to your level."

"Ha! You might as well give up on that!" Mine laughed, playfully slapping Tatsumi's arm. "Because there's no way you'll ever be as good as. I'm a genius sniper, remember?"

"I know, and I haven't forgotten." Tatsumi said, chuckling lightly.

"So…" Mine said as her voice suddenly became quiet and anxious. "You're heading to the capital to meet with Leone and Lubbock, right?"

"Yeah, I'm actually about to go pack up right now. To be honest, I wasn't really expecting this… but what the heck? I could just make this quick and head home after." Tatsumi replied as he scratched the top of his head. "If nothing goes wrong, I'll be back by the end of the day. I'm just doing some quick scouting with Leone and set up a few surveillance devices with Lubbock. That's about it."

"A-Alright…" Mine muttered, avoiding Tatsumi's gaze. She knew about Esdeath's return to the capital and she also knew how much of a dangerous person she is. After all, it was her own servants who killed Bulat and Sheele, it's not impossible for her to go after Tatsumi as well. "Tatsumi…" she called out, a fierce blush spreading across her face as she began fidget slightly.

"What is it?" Tatsumi asked, raising an eyebrow. "Woah, you okay? Your face is all red."

"I-I'm fine!" Mine exclaimed, her heart pounding in her chest. "J-Just… just be careful, okay! And make sure you come back safe! Akame wouldn't want you to come home wounded!" With a near neon blush, Mine spun around and rushed back towards her room.

"What's her problem?" Tatsumi muttered, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. _"It seemed like Mine was really worried about me right there… oh well, that's a good thing. That just means I'm adjusting well to this place… and it also means that Mine will be less brash and arrogant with me, because I like this side of her better."_ he smiled at the thought of the pink-haired sniper being kind and caring with him.

And then something suddenly struck him in his mind, making him curious.

" _Wait, if she was worried about me, then why was she becoming as red as a tomato earlier? Is she sick or something? Ah, I'll worry about it later. I have to finish getting ready and say goodbye to Akame."_

As soon as Mine reached her room, she slammed the door behind her. Releasing a shaky breath, Mine pressed her back against the door and sunk to the floor. _"What the hell did I say something like that for?"_ Mine thought, her breathing becoming erratic as her heart pounded in her chest. No matter how hard she tried to, Mine couldn't fight off her raging blush. _"Come on, get a grip! He's already with Akame or Leone or… whatever! Point is, he's already with someone! Why do I still feel like this around him?!"_ Mine screamed internally as she furiously tugged on her pink hair. _"Maybe… I can't help it… do I… like him too much?"_

 **(Ten Minutes Later)**

"There, that should be everything I need." Tatsumi said as he put on a hooded jacket. The young assassin grabbed his pack as well as _**Starfall**_ and turned to leave the room. However, he was a bit surprised to see Akame standing in his doorway, but it was actually perfect timing of her. "Oh hey Akame, I was actually just coming to see you before I leave."

"Well, I wanted to say goodbye before you go anywhere." Akame said with a small smile, walking towards Tatsumi. The girl wiped away a few dust she saw on his clothes as she held his shoulders. "And I won't let you go without even giving you a kiss." With those words, Akame captured Tatsumi's lips in a deep and passionate kiss. When both assassins broke their liplock about half a minute later, Akame's smile grew even wider as she hugged him close. "Stay safe and keep out of trouble. I know that Leone and Lubbock will be with you, but I can't help it."

"Don't worry about me." Tatsumi said, placing a kiss on the girl's forehead. "I'll be fine and if I ever get in trouble, I'll find a way out of it. I promised you that I won't die after all, so just take care of things around here, okay? Look after Mine, Seryu, and Spear for me. I love you." Giving Akame one last quick peck on the lips, Tatsumi walked out of the room.

"You did…" Akame said with a warm smile, clutching a hand over her heart. "I know you'll always come back to me. I love you, Tatsumi…"

As he left the hideout, Tatsumi stretched out his arms to get a feel of his surroundings before he'd leave for real. "Okay, time to get this show on the road!" Tatsumi said as he began to make his way towards the capital. However, he had only walked about a hundred feet away from the base before he spotted someone heading towards the hideout.

* * *

 _ **The Jaegers officially make their debut. Who's excited for their battle against Night Raid, with Seryu and Spear joining the latter, while Ren is with Esdeath and her lackeys? I can't wait to see what happens to Wave, Kurome, and Bols!**_

 _ **Ren finally unlocks his teigu's ability. Yay! Or Nay? Either way, how will this affect the story now? How strong is he? Will he somehow be able to meet Akame again, the person he considers the most beautiful in the world?**_

 _ **Tatsumi is off to the capital, and to those who know AGK by heart, knows that this is the time where Esdeath meets him for the first time. How will their meeting play out? The same as canon? I think not. Stay tuned to find out!**_

 _ **Harem (Final): Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **If you want to catch up with me and your other favorite writers, join our Discord server:**_

[discord . gg / uDxVym8]

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	17. Kill the Tournament

_**7th freakin' update in a row. XD (My BIRTHDAY was YESTERDAY, sorry!)**_

 _ **Guest: I have my own plans for Ren Ozaki. Starfall being weird? All teigus are weird lol hehe**_

"Normal Talking"

 _"Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters…**_

* * *

The moment Tatsumi got a good look at the person approaching in the distance, he was a bit surprised to see that it was Sayo. The dark-haired girl looked like a mess, covered in mud and dirt, yet she appeared to be uninjured despite this. Her bow was slung over her shoulder as she dragged a danger beast rained on by arrows from behind her. He waved his arm to try and gain her attention. "Sayo? What happened? You look like you've been through some rough shit."

"Tatsumi?" Sayo said, surprised to see her childhood friend leaving thee hideout. "Yeah, I guess I do kinda look like shit." Sayo suddenly scowled and kicked the dead danger beast she was dragging right on its head. "But I'm only like this because I've been tracking this bastard for the past few days. The little shit was a crafty one and I had some trouble trying to find him. Heh, but he didn't escape for long 'cause I finally got the fucker! Took fifteen damn arrows to bring him down and I figured Akame and I could have some fun cooking him up for a nice meal."

"Are you okay, Sayo?" Tatsumi asked, placing his hand on the girl's shoulder. "You seem a to be working a bit too much right now, and this hunting trip you just went on came out of nowhere, to be honest. Even I can tell that all this energy and enthusiasm is forced, and I don't want you working beyond your limits because I'm worried about you. You weren't like this back then."

The young man knew that he had hit the nail right on the head, because Sayo immediately deflated from her enthusiastic and lowered her head, her hair covering her eyes. "Sayo please, you can talk to me about anything. Is something wrong? Please tell me so I can help."

"How do you do it?" Sayo muttered with tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. "How can you be so strong even though two of your comrades have already died? I still haven't gotten over Sheele and Bulat… but you look as good as new as if you've just moved on all of a sudden! Everytime I close my eyes, I can still see Sheele's dying look while she's leaning on Bulat!" Sayo suddenly collapsed to her knees but Tatsumi managed to catch her and pulled the girl into a tight hug. Tears were now freely flowing from Sayo's eyes as she cried into Tatsumi's shoulder.

"I don't know what happened on that mission after I left them! Everything should have went smoothly and without nobody dying! I thought… I thought everything was going to be fine… I've been training so hard and… I prepared myself for it! B-But when Bulat told me to leave and let them take care of things, my mind started to race and I couldn't think straight! My aim was off and I was making one bad decision after another! Then...Then when I saw Sheele get shot my mind just went blank and I couldn't think straight! It's all my fault… it's my fault that they died! Their blood is on my hands!"

 _"So that's it… she must be holding on to it until now."_ Tatsumi thought as he continued to hold Sayo close to him, softly running his hand through her hair. When he spoke again, his voice took a smooth and comforting turn. "Sayo… you can't blame yourself for what happened to Sheele or Aniki, because it won't change anything. Like you said, Aniki told you to leave, didn't he? He wanted you to go save yourself, so you must not let his sacrifice be in vain and live for him in return. If I were in your position, I'd most likely go on a rampage and stomp my way to the capital, off to do something stupid. I don't think I'll act the way you did, which is way better than getting myself killed by marching to the enemy without even thinking it over."

"B-But…" Sayo whimpered, choking back another sob. However, Tatsumi silenced her by hugging her tighter, speaking directly towards her ear. Just the feeling of his warm embrace was somehow easing the pain and grief in her quivering heart.

"You're strong Sayo… in more ways than one, so don't ever doubt that. I bet Sheele and Aniki are watching over all of us right now, doing their best to protect us." Tatsumi said barely above a whisper, smiling sadly as he remembered Sheele's confession before she did. "When Ieyasu died, all I could think about were the possibilities that another one of us were to die as well. But, I've learned to look past that and think about a brighter future. You need to do just that, Sayo."

Tatsumi then remembered how Sheele kissed him before passing away; it was something that he would never forget in his life, and he there was no way for him to get over it. If he had to be honest, there were times that he had blamed himself for being too slow and composed that it got him to lower his seriousness and attentiveness, but he knew better than sit in a corner and mourn until the pain goes away.

He began to speak again. "I know that neither of our friends wouldn't want you blaming yourself for what happened, Sayo… what happened on that ship is in the past now and we can't change what happened. Yeah, we lost two of our comrades and it was because of our mistakes but we can learn from it so we won't make the same mistakes again." Tatsumi gently pushed Sayo away, allowing him to look directly at her eyes. "All we can do now is look towards the future and work harder so we won't ever feel that pain again… can you do that as well, Sayo? Can you work harder for a brighter future like what we are doing?"

"Tatsumi…" Sayo breathed out, her tears drying up as she tightly balled her fists. All of a sudden, a look of unwavering determination broke out on the girl's grieving face earlier. "Yeah! Yeah, you're right Tatsumi! I shouldn't be moping around like this! It will still take me some time before I fully move on from what happened with our friends, but I can't let that horrible memory drag me down! I have to use it to give me strength, so I'll never have to bury another comrade!" Sayo smiled as she stood back up on her feet and quickly wiped away her tears through her smile. "T-Thanks, Tatsumi… I don't know what I would do without you around."

"Eh, you know… sometimes, the best thing to do when you have a problem is through a good talk with a friend." Tatsumi said, returning her smile with one of his own. "I'm just glad to see that you're back to your old self, Sayo."

"Well, I wouldn't say I'm fully back to normal, but… I do feel a lot better now thanks to you." Sayo said with a small smile, rubbing the back of her head in slight embarrassment. "But please promise me one thing Tatsumi… don't let any of our friends ever die again… first Ieyasu, then Sheele and Bulat… I don't think I can take it."

He grinned at her. "I promise you Sayo, I'll do everything in my power to make sure no more of our friends die, including me. But you have to the same for me, okay? We both have to get stronger together, so that we'll survive this war." Tatsumi said, placing both his hands on the girl's shoulders. "But just like how I promised Akame, you'll never have to bury me. I'll survive no matter what our enemies throw at us and I'll come back home to everyone."

"Okay… I'm holding you to that promise, so you better not break it, Tatsumi…" Sayo muttered, a slight blush spreading across her face. Suddenly, without warning, Sayo lunged forward and gave her childhood friend a quick peck on the lips which shocked Tatsumi to the core. "Thanks again, Tatsumi. I'll see you when you get back to base later. Good luck out there." Without saying another word, Sayo grabbed her dead danger beast and continued on her walk back towards the base.

All Tatsumi could do was stare dumbfounded into the open space in front of him as Sayo walked away from him. He fingers reached up to his mouth where Sayo's lips had been and a heavy blush appeared on his face out of embarrassment. _"D-Did Sayo just k-kiss me? W-What the heck is going on here? N-No way… t-there's no freaking way… could it be that… s-s-she likes… me?"_

"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to get your ass moving?!" he heard Sayo yell in the distance, causing him to snap out of his thoughts and get back to reality.

"Shit! You're right!" Tatsumi yelled as he swung his pack over his shoulder and quickly rushed out of there. "If I don't hurry, Leone's gonna kill me!"

 **(Two Hours Later; Imperial Capital)**

 _"This place looks oddly crowded for some reason."_ Tatsumi thought, quietly glancing at the bustling people around him from under his hood. _"There must be some kind of occasion or… something interesting's gonna take place later on."_ As Tatsumi continued walking through the streets, he eventually spotted the bookstore that Lubbock had used as a front for their hidden base within the capital.

"Book Night?" he said, sweat-dropping. Tatsumi couldn't help but laugh in embarrassment at the weird name that Lubbock gave their hideout. "I get the fact that we're supposed to be hiding in plain sight from other people, but that name just seems a little too obvious for the smart ones…"

"Oh, hello sir." Lubbock said, leaning on the wall outside his shop as he crossed his arms.

"Hey." Tatsumi said with a little smirk, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Interesting little shop you got here, I especially like the name… it's unique, yet a bit intimidating for children."

"Why, thank you." Lubbock said with a cocky grin as he pointed to the shop with his thumb. "If you want to, you can browse our 'special' selection in the back of the store. It's got some pretty nifty books that come in handy in troubling situations too!"

"Lead the way." Tatsumi said with a shrug, following the green-haired man through the small bookstore. Once they reached the back of the shop, Lubbock pulled on one of the books on the shelf near the wall, revealing a hidden door and a staircase leading to a hidden basement underground. "This secret door is a nice touch… I like it." he commented, walking ahead while examining his surroundings.

"Isn't it?" Lubbock said with a wide grin as he followed behind the brunette. "This place is my pride and joy, like it's my own child."

"I don't have time for your games, Lubbock." Tatsumi said with a knowing look, turning his head to smirk at his friend. "It's quite obvious that you didn't build this place." As Tatsumi went further down the stairs, he eventually made his way towards Night Raid's hideout in the capital.

"OH YEAH!" Leone cheered on with a faint blush on her face as she slammed down her glass of sake on a wooden table. "Welcome to our little hideout, Tatsumi!" she said, grinning widely.

"Looks like you're having a good time here, Leone..." Tatsumi said, snatching the near-empty bottle of alcohol away from his blonde lover. Leone cutely pouted as she watched Tatsumi set it down on the floor. Tatsumi shook his head playfully before sitting next to her, smirking at her cute face. "Can't have you too drunk while we're out scouting later."

"I thought I already told you I don't get drunk easily!" Leone whined as she half-heartedly reached for the bottle on the floor, but Tatsumi blocked her reach with his own arm. "Just one more drink! Come on… please? "

"Not gonna work on me." he said simply, shrugging her off.

Leone huffed before she suddenly got a brilliant idea. She knew that there was one sure fire way to get a man to do what you want, and with Tatsumi being her mate, she could easily press him to give in to her. With a lustful look in her eyes, Leone leaned forward so that Tatsumi could easily look down her shirt. "If you let me have another drink, I'll give you a special 'treat' when we get home later." she said in a seductive voice.

"As tempting as it is, I'll have to reject that for now. We need to be focused while we're scouting, and I thought you were the one who taught me that, Leone." Tatsumi said, widening his smirk and causing the blonde girl to instantly deflate in her seat in frustration. Looks like he was harder to seduce or even tempt than most men. "But if all goes well today, I'll have a drink with you when we get back."

"Alright, but you better not be fooling around with me." Leone said, crossing her arms under her enormous bust.

"I'd only fool around if there was actually _something_ to fool around with." Tatsumi replied, replacing his smirk with a smile. "This time, we'll be able to have a drink under different reasons unlike last time.."

"Yeah…" the busty blonde agreed as she gave her boyfriend a lustful smile. "Maybe if you get me drunk enough, I'll let you tie —"

"I-If you two are done flirting, I'd… like to get things started." Lubbock interjected, a bright blush spreading across his face and a thin stream of blood could be seen dripping from his nose. The green-haired assassin took a calming breath to calm down his raging hormones… and… to wipe the blood off his face. "All right, back to assassin business… Wanted posters of Sayo have begun to pop up all over the capital recently… so the three of us, along with Mine, are the only ones who can freely walk around the capital right now. Of course, Seryu and Spear are major exceptions due to their situations within the empire itself."

"That's strange, I really thought that a few people on our escort mission saw my face…" Tatsumi mused, rubbing the back of his head in confusion. "But, I guess that's not the case right now… anyways, while I was on the way here, it seemed like the whole capital was talking about this new security squad called the 'Jaegers'. Anything to say about that?"

"That's because Esdeath is the one leading them." Lubbock explained, leaning against a nearby wall. "Anything she does is a big deal around here since she's the strongest person in the capital… well, that and because that witch is extremely dangerous… even to us."

"Esdeath…" Tatsumi muttered, as he looked down at his feet. _"So… there's no denying it, is there? It's really her… yet this doesn't explain things at all. I thought she just wanted to fight for her father? It doesn't make sense for her to join the capital! What happened after I —?"_ The young man then shook his head and looked up, before shoving his hands into his pockets, locking eyes with Lubbock. "So… how dangerous is Esdeath exactly?"

"There are too many stories to tell but… one in particular comes to mind." Lubbock said, sighing heavily as he began to explain. "Several years ago, a savage tribe in the southwest rose up to fight against the empire, and what a fight they managed to put up. The minister sent an army of over 120,000 men to eliminate a just a little over 10,000 tribals. It should have been an easy victory for the empire, and it would be a clear and easy way to display their power."

"What do you mean? What happened?" Tatsumi asked, intrigued with Lubbock's words.

"The harsh terrain and abundant danger beasts in the southwestern area attacked the soldiers relentlessly, erasing a good number off their ranks. At night, the tribals would launch surprise attacks against them, and it was already clear that the army couldn't carry out their mission. The minster got desperate, so he sent in two young generals to help them, Najenda and Esdeath." Tatsumi's eyes widened slightly just at the mention of the boss' name. "Long story short, Esdeath and her men absolutely slaughtered those poor tribals and the danger beasts in that place. Her powers were so devastating and fearsome that it even worried Najenda and her men. After Esdeath and her men had fully decimated the enemy, they turned their sights on the village itself."

"Nothing good came out of that, I'm guessing?" Tatsumi asked rhetorically.

"That's right. There, Esdeath let her men loose, allowing them to do whatever they wished to do. She thought of it as them reaping their rewards for successfully defeating their enemies. Her men murdered and raped their way through the entire village, stealing anything valuable they could possibly find and burning the rest of it to the ground. After her men were finished and finally satisfied with what they've done, Esdeath spared three survivors, so they could live the rest of their lives never to forget what they had seen and experienced at her hands, and so that they could spread word of what had happened as a warning to other opposing forces against the empire. That sick brutality and utter cruelty is what drove Najenda to leave the empire and join the revolutionary army afterwards."

"That's too much, don't you think?" Tatsumi muttered, taking a seat on the nearest couch. _"To make those three watch as she took everything from them… that's not like her back then… she wasn't on this level of being ruthless and sadistic… I'll have to look into more of this myself."_

"That's exactly what Esdeath aims to do. All she wants to do is to torture and make other people suffer." Lubbock said, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, that's one way of keeping herself satisfied since she totally loves to fight strong enemies."

"I'm _so_ glad I didn't try to fight her." Leone said, staring down into her empty sake glass. "That woman is seriously bad news in its purest form. The scent of blood was so strong on her, it even made me sick. I can't imagine the millions of people she and her men have killed."

"She must be quite the monster for the two of you to talk about her like that." Tatsumi said, silently wrapping an arm around Leone's waist. "Anyway, looks like you took took my advice and left her alone that day. Thank you for that… I don't know what I'm going to do if I found out that you had gotten hurt."

"Aww, you're so sweet for worrying about me." Leone cooed, pulling Tatsumi towards her in a passionate kiss, which the brunette didn't hesitate to return with just as much love and passion like she did.

 _"God, first I walk in on them the morning after they screw each other to unconscious, now I have to watch them suck face… end my suffering now… where's Najenda when you need her?"_ Lubbock groaned in his mind, running a hand down his face in frustration. "Oi, lover boy!" Hearing the somewhat annoying nickname caused Tatsumi to break his liplock with Leone. He glared at Lubbock as the latter assassin dug through his pack, searching for something. "If you're so curious about Esdeath…" Tatsumi raised an eyebrow when Lubbock handed him a strange flyer. "You can check her out in person. Apparently, she's holding a civilian combat tournament and the winner gets a large amount of cash as the top prize. That should help you with your plan to send money to your village, right?"

"Combat tournament, huh? Interesting…" Tatsumi muttered as he rubbed his chin, weighing his possible options. _"This is gonna be really risky… but this could be my only chance to see her personally and check out if she's living up to her reputation around here… alright, it looks like it's time for a little reunion."_ Making up his mind, Tatsumi rose from the couch with a determined look on his face. "Alright, I'll do it. If I do this I can kill two birds with one stone."

 **(Two Hours Later; Capital's Colosseum)**

"How utterly uninteresting..." Esdeath muttered in a bored tone, resting her head on her fist as she yawned softly. The capital's most feared general looked bored beyond belief as she watched the two men fight down below at the arena.

"What do you think of those two, general?" Run asked as he set down a fresh glass of wine for the blue-haired woman who rested her head on her fist.

"Boring men build up quite an equally boring battle…" Esdeath drawled, yawning one more time to ultimately show her disinterest in witnessing the ongoing fight. "Just as I thought, there isn't a single teigu user among them… which is what should make these matches more interesting if there is no torture involved… will I even see anything remotely exciting from these fights?"

"I see…" Run said, as he watched the fight below reach its end. "Ah, it looks like the battle has been decided. The next fight will be the penultimate round before the final."

"Hmm, my hopes for a good fight in the next one have suddenly diminished… I wonder if there could possibly be something that would draw my attention." Esdeath said, swirling the wine in her glass as she smirked evilly.

Down in the arena, Wave was tasked with announcing the fighters in the tournament as well as the winners of each round. "For the next fight, in the east corner! We have Kalbi the Butcher!" The crowd erupted in cheers as a massive bullheaded man walked into the fray, turning around so he could show off a bit for the audience.

"And in the west corner! We have Tatsumi the Striker!" As Tatsumi showed up in the scene, he was met with mixed reaction, some were booing while some were cheering for him. Nothing changed about his appearance, with the only difference being he didn't have _**Starfall**_ with him for this particular event.

"That one is just a mere boy… I wonder if he just made a mistake to join a dangerous tournament" Run said while Esdeath perked up a bit in her seat, turning her attention towards Tatsumi. It seemed like there was something about the fiery determination in the boy's eyes that caught her attention.

 _"Maybe I will see something interesting after all."_ Esdeath thought with a hidden smirk on her face. _"Striker… this is the first time I've heard a fighter be called like that… I wonder what this particular boy can do…"_

Up in the crowded audience, Lubbock and Leone were both watching their comrade closely, ready to report anything in case if something goes wrong. "That's quite the interesting alias… it totally fits him." Leone said, leaning back in her seat. "What are the odds that he's winning this tournament for real?"

"Eh, if I could… I'd bet all my money on him." Lubbock said with a smirk, crossing his arms over his chest. "With how he we've seen him fought against Akame, Bulat, and bandits, I'd say he'll ace this easily." Leone nodded in agreement, but she also had something else bothering her mind.

"I know Tatsumi will win this… but I can't help but feel a little on edge… I know he wants to send money to his village…" Leone thought, looking at her surroundings, before her golden eyes narrowed when her gaze landed on General Esdeath herself. _"But I really don't like where this is going…"_

"Well, aren't you a little piece of shit?" Kalbi snorted, staring down at Tatsumi. "You should probably back out now while you have the chance, kid. That cash prize money is as good as mine, and nobody's taking it away from me."

 _"Dude…"_ Wave thought, looking at Kalbi with a hint of disgust on his face. _"He may be an arrogant prick, but he's definitely not to be messed with… well, I'm just going to find out when they fight for real."_ Raising his arm, Wave sent a glance to the left and right to make sure both fighters were ready. "Begin!"

 _"I don't want to create too much of a scene and beat this guy in a few seconds… that would basically give me away."_ Tatsumi thought, taking off his jacket so that he was left in a black undershirt before sliding into his fighting stance, raising only one arm and implored Kalbi to charge towards him, causing the bullheaded man to snort and laugh at Tatsumi's attempt to get him to react differently than them.

In her seat, Esdeath raised an eyebrow at what Tatsumi just did, before she suddenly felt that it was something she had seen before. " _That stance… it feels familiar… have I seen it before?"_ she thought to herself.

 _"This guy… he's not gonna last long when it comes to insults like this…"_ Tatsumi thought with a hidden smirk, continuing to taunt Kalbi and force him to make the first move. From looks alone, he could tell that his enemy was a prideful person and he wasn't going to take insults well, regardless of the fact on whether they were true or not.

"Tch, I gave you a chance to back out, kid! Now here I come! Say goodbye, kiddo!" Kalbi exclaimed as he charged forward with his fist cocked back. "Blasting Fist Full Course!"

Taking one last calming breath, Tatsumi sidestepped to avoid Kalbi's incoming fist and he immediately lost track of the brunette as he raced around him due to Tatsumi's superior advantage in speed and agility.

The bullheaded man was so distracted trying to locate Tatsumi that he didn't notice the young assassin was just directly behind him. Deciding to catch Kalbi off guard, Tatsumi leaped up and slammed his elbow down towards the back of his enemy's neck. Feeling as if his whole body was affected, Kalbi fell down to a knee as he screamed in pain.

Tatsumi, feeling annoyed with his attitude earlier, didn't give his enemy anytime to react or recover as he quickly jumped back to gain some distance between the two of them. With his target being set in his sight, Tatsumi ran back towards Kalbi and leaped up in the air to deliver a strong dropkick to the back of his Kalbi's neck, further damaging it and making his work easier.

Kalbi rolled over the ground in pain, clutching his neck as he groaned to try and resist what he felt but it wasn't enough. In a shocking display of strength, Tatsumi took a deep breath and pulled Kalbi back up on his feet and carried the big man on his shoulders, earning the fascination of most of the audience. The young brunette's muscles and veins could be well seen bulging as he did his best to keep Kalbi up there for a while.

Tatsumi let out a roar as he threw Kalbi off his shoulders, but before he could drop to the ground however, the young man brought his right knee up at the last second, hitting Kalbi square on the mouth, knocking some of his teeth out and caused him to start bleeding from his lip.

The bullheaded man landed on both of his knees yet he was bowing forward, already having the most of his strength get drained out of him even though the match barely started from his perspective. Tatsumi crouched down, grabbing his hair and pulled his head up so that Kalbi was looking into his eyes. Tatsumi stood back up on his feet again and pointed towards Kalbi's face as if it was his target. Letting out another roar, the brunette then delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to his enemy's head.

Kalbi's head snapped back and he could already feel the life draining out from him, but before he could fall to the ground first, Tatsumi grabbed by his neck and kept him on a kneeling position before running several meters back. "Time to fly." he whispered to himself before running back towards Kalbi, delivering a massive soccerball kick to the man's chest as Tatsumi stopped in his tracks just beside his enemy like a train just after using one of his most devastating attacks right now.

Kalbi managed to spit out a handful of blood as he collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious as the blood poured out of his mouth.

With only this as a sign of his victory, the audience immediately burst out into cheers, celebrating his triumph and without a trace of boos anywhere. The fight that they just witnessed was all about pure abilities, which would easily explain how Kalbi lost in his battle without even making a single move to at least show some fight in him.

 _"Now that was something interesting… this is strange, he made simple attacks and strikes worthy of being watched and praised by others… I need to keep a close eye on him. But it really feels like I'd seen this kind of fighting before… but where, exactly?"_ Esdeath thought as she gazed at Tatsumi with growing curiosity.

"That boy has amazing talent, general… and it appears I was wrong about him. " Run said, staring at Tatsumi in awe. "He defeated such a powerful enemy with ease."

"That's enough!" Wave exclaimed, raising his hand into the air. "The winner is Tatsumi! He advances to the final round, which begins in a few moments!" Instantly the crowd erupted into roaring cheers, everyone excited to see the clear underdog win the fight.

"And now for the final round that will determine the winner of this tournament, in the east corner, Tatsumi the Striker" Completely opposite to what went down earlier, the crowd had begun to loudly cheer for him as the young man prepared himself for whoever his opponent might be. "In the west corner, we have Baron the Boxer!

Almost on cue, a shirtless but well-built man clad only in his pants walked into the arena, facing Tatsumi on the opposite direction. He had bandages wrapped around his hands and he had a small band-aid on his right cheek. Only from the looks alone, it was clear that this man was a fighter not to be underestimated.

"I shall fight with my hardest… I expect nothing less of you for I wish to become stronger." he said with a monotone voice similar to that of Akame's as he assumed a basic fighting stance, raising both of his fists up.

" _This guy… looks like he's a genuine fighter and he's not really annoying like that other one… hmm, I'll give him a clean and fair fight. That's the least I can do for him since I want to win as well…"_ Tatsumi thought, going into his fighting stance like earlier.

"Begin!" Wave's voice rung out through the whole arena.

As they heard the signal for their battle to start, Tatsumi took a deep breath and started to slowly walk forward and examined his opponent from a short distance, with Baron doing the same. Like two fighters facing off one another, the two began executing some feint strikes and attacks, attempting to catch the other one off guard to gain the immediate advantage but their quick dodges were able to answer those. This phenomena caused the audience to watch closely, interested in how this fight was going to play out. Unlike the earlier match where it was totally one-sided, this could be something worth watching. Esdeath was also watching with total interest from her seat, her eyes especially glued towards Tatsumi.

In the midst of their quick evades and strikes, Tatsumi suddenly stopped out of nowhere and stretched out his arm towards his opponent and attempted to do a handshake. The black-haired Baron looked surprised for a moment before he stepped forward and accepted the handshake, showing a mutual form of respect towards each other.

Esdeath looked pleasantly surprised with how Tatsumi acted despite his earlier attitude as the audience burst in applause, liking how the two had respect for one another. " _Strange… he treated the other one like garbage earlier and he shows respect for this man? This Tatsumi might be more interesting than I thought…"_

In a move that shocked almost everybody in the arena, Baron suddenly took advantage of the handshake by pulling Tatsumi towards him and delivered a swift punch to the side of his face, knocking the young assassin a few steps back, but managed to stay on his feet.

Tatsumi glanced at his enemy, who was looking determined to win this battle, before shaking his head playfully and smiled slightly, silently applauding Baron for striking at the right moment. He then returned the favor by rushing forward and delivering his own series of elbows to Baron's face, stopping once he was on his knees.

The tide of the battle turned towards Tatsumi's favor as he began to kick Baron's chest over and over for a few seconds before his attention shifted towards Baron's head. Tatsumi prepared his right foot before trying a roundhouse kick towards his opponent's head, only for the man to duck at the last second, and quickly attacked Tatsumi's leg while he was in a vulnerable position.

Tatsumi's eyes widened slightly as he suppressed a groan that was itching to make its way out of his mouth, dropping to one knee as he held his other one. The audience looked genuinely surprised for a moment while Baron got back up to his feet amd stretched out his limbs for a bit.

Without even letting Tatsumi recover, Baron began kicking the young man's back again and again just like how Tatsumi nearly broke his chest earlier. Tatsumi looked hurt, but with every kick that he felt, he only hissed in pain while gritting his teeth to resist every inch of it. When Baron looked like he was finally done, he then aimed for Tatsumi's head and began to kick it over and over as well, wanting to get this over with since he now knew that this kid wasn't somebody to mess with.

More than half a minute passed, and Baron finally stopped in his onslaught, panting slightly as he crouched down a bit to regain his breath. But to everyone's shock that resulted in various gasps everywhere in the arena, Tatsumi survived his attacks and pointed to his own neck, silently asking Baron for more with a smirk on his face.

Baron had his hands on his hips and sighed of frustration. So all that effort was for nothing, huh? The audience started to erupt in cheers once more, regaining hope that Tatsumi would win this fight in the end. The black-haired fighter wiped the sweat off his face before he started kicking Tatsumi's back and head alternately, slowly finding himself being pushed back when the brunette appeared to be shrugging off every attack he felt.

And then only a few seconds later, Tatsumi was already starting to get back up on his two feet as if he felt nothing from all the kicks that Baron continued to give him. When he was finally standing upright, Baron switched to a variety of jabs and punches to either Tatsumi's head or body, hoping that it would at least faze him since obviously, his feet being weapons weren't effective.

All of a sudden, Tatsumi caught Baron's fist before it could connect with his face again, before throwing it aside and began flurrying his enemy's face again with multiple elbows, this time being a bit more aggressive than earlier. However, Baron was not going to let himself be beaten without a fight as he intercepted Tatsumi's attacks with his own actions, beginning to hit the young man all over and over again with his own elbows.

Once again, Tatsumi stopped him mid-way and began hitting Baron with elbows yet again, showing his defiance and refusal to get defeated in this fight. With a low growl, Baron pushed him away roughly and changed his strategy a bit.

With quick thinking and because of his intense knowledge in brawling, Baron came up with a quick combo which ended up in a massive uppercut that sent Tatsumi staggering back, making it look like he was in full control of the fight now. However, just before he could do anything else, Tatsumi quickly spun around as if he felt nothing, before using the momentum to deliver a big backhand towards Baron, catching him off guard.

The backhand alone could be heard throughout the place because of how quiet the crowd had become ever since the fight became a back-and-forth exchange of attacks between the two. The strength and force of it however, was a different story. Baron had fallen down to his knees, his body slowly starting to give out because of having to be on the receiving end of such punishment in a short period of time.

Tatsumi panted slightly as he slowly approached Baron, kneeling down so he was at the same level as him. He then grabbed his enemy's hair and pulled him back up on his feet, letting him stand upright as the young assassin looked into his eyes.

"Thank you for putting up a fight." he said simply before leaning his head back and delivered a skull-ending headbutt to Baron's forehead, with the force alone enough to be heard all around the arena, and which caused the audience to visibly flinch at the impact as Tatsumi released his hair from his own grasp.

Both Run and Wave could be seen flinching slightly at the impact that they just heard, because that might have hurt really bad. But Esdeath didn't react to it at all, keeping her eyes on Tatsumi with a strong blush on her face.

Whispers and various murmurs of shock erupted all over the crowd began to fill the arena as Baron fell down to the ground, while Tatsumi still managed to stay up on his two feet as blood visibly pour down from his forehead, the force of his last attack busting busting him wide open.

Despite his obvious bleeding, Tatsumi paid it no heed and started to walk backwards, keeping his eyes peeled towards Baron at all costs. Upon reaching a considerable distance, he began imploring his enemy to get up, using nothing hand gestures to get Baron to move.

When Baron finally rose from the ground, he was dazing and he only managed to sit on his knees instead of standing up on his feet, panting heavily because of how spent his entire body was. However, he did have the strength left to raise up his hands to give one last gesture, taunting Tatsumi and asking him to finish it.

With his target set in his sights, Tatsumi rushed in for his last attack. Running at his full speed, the young man let out a roar as he delivered a massive soccerball kick to Baron's face, with enough strength to send the black-haired fighter flying a few meters away. After the ground stopped him from going any further, he tried to push himself back up to his feet, but failed considerably when his arms gave out.

Having seen enough, Wave cleared his throat and pointed towards the brunette. "That's enough! Since Baron is unable to fight, the winner is Tatsumi! He wins the tournament!" After only a few moments of stunned silence, the crowd once again erupted into cheers and applause, being louder than his victory over Kalbi earlier.

 _"Heh… that was a pretty good fight… I enjoyed it."_ Tatsumi thought, taking a few deep breaths as he walked towards Baron. This caused the crowd to become silent once again, wondering what he was going to do since the fight was already over.

Baron, still lying on the ground, looked up to see Tatsumi approaching towards him. Initially thinking that he was going to go for the kill, he was then proved wrong when Tatsumi bent down a bit and outstretched his hand for him to reach. Tatsumi's eyes told the story as the audience burst into surprise and murmurs again, surprised that the young man was still showing him respect despite what happened during their fight.

Baron scowled and looked disgusted for a moment before he sighed and reached out to grab his opponent's hand. As Tatsumi pulled him back up to his feet, the audience started to applaud the two of them for showing good sportsmanship, which was something that you don't get to see in the capital often these days.

As Tatsumi shook his hand, he was then caught off guard when Baron suddenly grabbed his arm and raised it high before pointing towards him, acknowledging Tatsumi as the winner of their encounter. Although surprised at first, Tatsumi couldn't but smile brightly at all of the people who were cheering for him, basking in his victory.

" _I might as well enjoy this while I still can until that Esdeath shows up…"_ he thought to himself. When Baron finally let go of his arm, the man bowed his head slightly in respect before limping out of the arena.

Unbeknownst to Tatsumi, that one smile of his could lead to something good or something bad. Up in her spectator box, Esdeath's heart pounded rapidly inside her chest as a bright blush formed on her face, completely changing her appearance from her usual serious look. The young general clutched a hand over her thumping heart and slowly rose from her seat, staring at Tatsumi with eyes full of longing and desire.

Esdeath could hardly believe it. She thought her eyes were just deceiving her. After all this pointless searching for _the one_ , she had finally found him. She finally found her true love.

"I've found him."

"Hm?" Run muttered as he watched Esdeath rise from her seat. She seemed to be interested in something from the look on her face. "Is he a candidate for wielding a teigu?"

"That as well… but I was referring to something else." Esdeath said, and before Run could even say anything as a response, she began to make her way down the stairs towards the arena.

As Esdeath made her way down the stairs, the crowd suddenly went quiet. It wasn't until he noticed the weird silence that fell that he could hear somebody making their way down towards the arena. He turned around and noticed that Esdeath herself was heading down towards the arena, causing him to smirk. _"Looks like I really impressed her… for her to come to me personally."_

"You're name is Tatsumi… correct?" Esdeath asked, stopping just a few feet away from the young assassin. "That's a good name."

"Thanks." Tatsumi said with a smile, feeling as calm as ever despite the intimidating aura of the blue-haired woman. _"This woman… is the same woman I fought years ago? This is the leader of the bastards that killed my friends? A lot must have changed since then… wait a second, did she really take those words I told her seriously? That could be the only possible explanation for what's happening right now, to be honest…"_

"Your match just now… it was one that would be remembered for a long time. And you performed extraordinary well out there…" Esdeath complimented, resting her hands on her hips. "I would like to personally give you your reward, Tatsumi."

"Thank you very much." Tatsumi said, nodding as he closed his eyes and smiled. _"I can worry about that issue later… I need to pay attention to the village as well… with me and Sayo gone, they could go hungry anytime."_ However, he was completely unprepared for what was going to happen when he felt something about to go around his neck, causing him to snap his eyes open quickly as if it was an alarm.

Out of pure instinct, Tatsumi quickly jumped back and look up to see just what exactly happened. In front of him was Esdeath, holding a collar and chain with a blush on her face. "W-What the hell?! W-W-Where's my reward?!" he demanded.

"From now on…" Esdeath said in a hushed and husky tone, walking towards him, the atmosphere around her becoming cold at every step she took. "You belong to me, Tatsumi."

"Huh?" Tatsumi said, his eyes narrowing as he thought about what the woman just said. His eyes then widened upon realizing the meaning behind ber words. "W-Wait, what the fuck?! Listen here, woman! I —!" he cut himself off from his own words when Esdeath tried to catch him off guard again, causing him to dive to the side before getting back up to his feet again with a kip-up.

Esdeath looked at him surprised for a few seconds, a sudden memory of hers resurfacing before she shook it off and smirked sadistically. "Come now, Tatsumi… there are far too many distractions here." she said, continuing in her words. "You're coming back to the palace with me… otherwise, I'll have to punish you."

"Now, wait just a second, woman! I need to talk to you about something! And it's not just about the prize!" he said, trying to reason out with her.

"I can't wait any longer…" Esdeath said, freezing Tatsumi's lower body in ice so he wouldn't be able to move anymore. Walking up towards him, she then delivered a swift chop to Tatsumi's neck… which did nothing as the brunette resisted her attack as if it was nothing.

"Stop resisting and just come with me." Esdeath narrowed her eyes dangerously and delivered another chop to his neck, this time stronger than before, yet all it did was knock Tatsumi's head to the side which signified that it wasn't enough for him to get knocked out.

Tatsumi looked back towards her and began to speak in a defeated tone. "Fine, I'll go with you… it'd be a direct hassle to announce it in front of a large audience, anyway. But I would appreciate it if you didn't have me go there in chains… I'll follow you on my own —" he was then cut off when something hard and blunt hit him at the back of his head, causing him to blackout in only a few seconds.

"Don't worry my dear, we'll talk more in my room…" Esdeath said sweetly, releasing Tatsumi from her ice as she hugged his unconscious form against her breasts. "In private… just the two of us. Good work, Ren. I'll expect nothing less from you in the future. Now go assist the others in cleaning up this mess. This tournament is finished and I have my winner." she continued, looking at the man who stood just behind the spot where Tatsumi was earlier.

Ren looked a bit nervous for a moment before he recomposed himself, his spear by his side as he saluted. "Anything for you, general!" he declared, causing Esdeath to chuckle slightly.

"Now come on, my dear Tatsumi. We have much to discuss alone." With a victorious smile, Esdeath carried Tatsumi out of the arena, with Ren regrouping with Wave and Run at the spectator box.

Somewhere in the massive audience, two Night Raid assassins were taken aback at what they just saw; earlier, they were joining in the cheers for Tatsumi when he won, and then it just died when they saw Esdeath swoop in and steal him away from sight. "W-What the fuck just happened?" Lubbock muttered, his eyes open in shock at his comrade being taken right before his eyes.

"That bitch…" Leone growled, tightly grabbing the railing in front of her so hard that it began to bend and warp. "DID SHE JUST STEAL TATSUMI AWAY FROM ME!?"

* * *

 _ **Tatsumi has finally met Esdeath. Will their history together be finally revealed next chapter? There were so many hints that they encountered each other back then, but how exactly? Stay tuned!**_

 _ **I hope you guys liked the fight scenes!**_

 _ **Harem (Final): Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **If you want to catch up with me and your other favorite writers, join our Discord server:**_

[discord . gg / uDxVym8]

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	18. Kill the Jaegers' Power

_**Classy JOK3R: Dude, did you even read the chapter? Or you don't have any logic on what happens in a real fight? Tatsumi fought in 2 fights without rest, of course he'll be easier to knock out.**_

"Normal Talking"

" _Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters…**_

 _ **NOTE: Tatsumi is not, at all, invulnerable to strikes. His style of fighting is inspired greatly by the Japanese style of wrestling, known as Strong Style. When he 'shrugs off' strikes from his opponents, he's just absorbing the damage dealt to him, yet he feels pain nonetheless. Hit him hard enough many times, he'll go down. Which explains how he was easily knocked out last chapter.**_

 _ **I hope this info is of great help to make you understand how he fights.**_

* * *

 **(One Hour Later; Path Leading to Night Raid's Hidden Base)**

"Leone, slow the hell down!" Lubbock exclaimed, nearly out of breath as he struggled to keep up with the seething blonde. "Hey! Wait a second, Leone! You're going way too fast!" Probably making the stupidest decision of his life, Lubbock reached out and grabbed Leone's shoulder, effectively stopping her in her tracks. "Look, I get the fact that you're upset right now, but you have to calm down and think rationally for a second."

"Upset?" Leone repeated, turning around to give Lubbock a fierce glare that looked intimidating and scary enough to kill weaker men. Her cheerful golden eyes were full of rage and lust for vengeance. Lubbock immidiately recoiled in fear and moved far away from the busty blonde. "I'm not upset, Lubbock… I'm pissed off right now… I'm fucking full of rage right now! That bitch Esdeath took MY man away from us! Oh, as soon as I get my hands on her, I'll rip the flesh off her bones!"

 _"Note to self… don't push Leone too far… she'll kill me."_ Lubbock thought, trying his best to regain his composure despite his obvious sweating. But Leone's overwhelming aggression made it difficult for him to think of a way to talk to her that won't tick her off. He knew that he had to be careful with his words from now on.

"L-Look Leone, I know you're pissed off for real right now, and you have every right to be after what just happened back at the capital. But you need to calm down, okay? Acting purely on your emotions without thinking it over is one of the worst moves an assassin can make. We need to regroup with the others and relay the information we have, and _then_ we can come up with a plan to get Tatsumi back." Lubbock sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets, looking at his friend with concern. "Tatsumi is a tough guy, I know he'll be okay. He wouldn't want you to be like this, worrying about his well-being."

"I know Tatsumi is strong… he's one of the strongest people I know…" Leone said, her voice low and uncertain as she tightly balled her fists in frustration. "He's my boyfriend damn it, and I can't help but be worried about him. Especially when he was taken right before my eyes… and I couldn't even do anything to help him. You didn't feel it, Lubbock… you can't sense the disgusting amount of bloodlust that Esdeath gives off...but I did. I felt it first-hand and it made me sick to my stomach…" the blonde woman gritted her teeth as tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

"I'm just scared of what she'll do him… I know you've heard the stories… those stories of how Esdeath sadistically tortures people… she breaks their minds until they're just submissive lapdogs who'll follow her everywhere and give in to her every whim… Tatsumi is strong and I know he won't break easily… but I'm afraid that if we wait too long, Esdeath might actually succeed and… Tatsumi will be her mindless pet… I don't want that… I don't want Tatsumi to forget about Night Raid… to forget about Akame… to forget about his friends…"

"Leone…" Lubbock muttered, looking to the side so the girl wouldn't see his scowl. The busty blonde's words showed the intense sadness inside her and it struck a cord in Lubbock's heart, making him think of his own secret that he had kept from anyone else. _"If Najenda was ever captured… I'd probably feel the same way as Leone."_

"I don't want him to forget me…" Leone said, angrily wiping away her forming tears as she clenched her fists. "That's why I can't calm down, Lubbock. Until Tatsumi is back here and safe with the rest of us, I won't feel at ease. Until he's back in my arms and tells me that he loves —" Leone was cut off when Lubbock once again put his hand on her shoulder.

"Like I said before Leone, we can't be irrational and act purely based on our emotions. Believe me, I want to run back there and save Tatsumi as quick as I can, but that'll only get us killed… and Tatsumi's not gonna like it when another one of his comrades is killed." Lubbock said, locking eyes with Leone. "We have to get back to the hideout and talk to the others about it. After that, we'll come up with a plan. It might not happen right away, but I promise you that we'll get Tatsumi back, no matter what."

The fire and determination Lubbock's eyes as well as the seriousness in his voice somehow reminded Leone of Tatsumi and she couldn't help but feel relieved, even for only a bit. "Alright, Lubbock… we'll… we'll take it slow and come up with a plan..." A light blush dusted across Leone's face as she rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment, remembering her sudden outburst earlier. "Sorry about flipping out on you a second again, Lubbock… I'm just really ticked off right now."

"Don't mention it." Lubbock said with a grin, patting Leone's shoulder, glad that he was able to solve this before it got out of hand. "I've experienced way worse than you yelling at me, anyway. Now, let's hurry and inform everyone of what happened. I have a feeling that Akame won't take the news very well…"

"Okay, let's head back… and I think you might be right on that one…" Leone said, following closely behind Lubbock as she imagined the worst as soon as they tell Akame and the others about what happened today.

* * *

 **(Ten Minutes Later; Night Raid's Meeting Room)**

"What?!" Akame exclaimed, slamming her hands onto the meeting room's table in shock over what she just heard from Leone's mouth. Actually, it wasn't only her because all of the other members were also taken aback at what she suddenly announced in front of everyone else. "What do you mean he was kidnapped by Esdeath?!"

"When Esdeath came down to give Tatsumi his reward for winning the damn tournament, she chased him around for a bit before one of her men snuck up on him and knocked him out. And then Tatsumi got dragged off by that woman afterwards…" Leone said in defeat, clenching her fists tightly. "I'm sorry Akame… there wasn't anything I could do to stop her. They were in the middle of that arena… and it would have been a disaster if we tried to rescue Tatsumi. If there was a chance, I would've rushed in to save him before anyone would know it… a —"

"You don't have to apologize Leone, you made the right call." Akame sighed, cutting Leone off. "Attacking out of nowhere when we're already undermanned will surely lead to all our deaths… and Tatsumi would never forgive himself if you had gotten hurt trying to save him."

"Thanks Akame…" Leone muttered, smiling slightly through her sadness.

"So, did Esdeath suspect that Tatsumi was possibly a member of Night Raid?" Mine asked, leaning against a nearby wall. The pinkette appeared to be calm and composed on the outside, but on the inside she was extremely worried about Tatsumi and was trying her best not to panic. " _I don't want that idiot to get hurt…"_ she thought to herself. Mine had to suppress her urge to grab _**Pumpkin**_ and go save Tatsumi herself, but now was not the time to make irrational decisions and act based on what she felt. "Because if she does know, he'll be in a lot of trouble."

"I sure hope not…" said Spear, rubbing her forehead to keep herself focused at the subject in hand.

"I doubt it… but I wouldn't completely take that possibility out of the situation." Lubbock said, rubbing his chin. "Because when she finally captured him, Esdeath said something that was kinda strange. She said that Tatsumi belongs to her."

"What?" Akame asked darkly, her eyebrow twitching as her anger slowly grew, completely changing her attitude from the calm and stoic girl they knew and love. "First, this woman steals Tatsumi, now she intends to treat him as some sort of toy? I won't let that happen…" Everyone was surprised to hear the anger growing in Akame's voice. The red-eyed assassin was usually the calmest and most collected member of their group, but the fierce glare in her eyes showed that she was upset, and was getting angrier with each second that passed, which looked worse than what Leone looked like earlier.

A low growl escaped Akame's lips as she suddenly grabbed _**Murasame**_ and made her way towards the door, her intention clear in her mind. "Excuse me everyone, I'll be back in a little bit. I need to kill a certain somebody right now."

"Wait just a second, Akame!" Leone exclaimed, grabbing her friend by her shirt. With a heavy sigh, Leone pulled Akame close and began to speak again. "Look, I understand better than anyone here how you're feeling right now. I want to run back there and rescue Tatsumi as well, but we can't just rush into this without thinking of a good plan. This is Esdeath we're talking about here and her new squad of teigu users. We'll be killed if we act right now. Also… I don't think Esdeath wants Tatsumi as a pet or plaything."

"What do you mean?" Akame asked, quirking an eyebrow in confusion.

"I don't really have any proof for this, but… the way Esdeath was treating Tatsumi, aside from freezing him then knocking him out… she was being so gentle and kind with him, even though Tatsumi tried his best to avoid her. And when she spoke to him… her voice was so passionate and maybe even loving if you heard it closely. And lastly, she was blushing like crazy when she carried him out of the arena. I hate to say this Akame, but Esdeath may like Tatsumi."

"The general likes Tatsumi?" Seryu repeated, looking down on the floor while Koro nuzzled close to her feet. "This is bad… we'll have to think of a plan as soon as possible, then!"

"What are you talking about, Seryu?" asked Spear in a confused tone.

"I don't know much about the general… but I do know that she isn't the type of woman to sit back and wait. If we don't make a move soon, she'll eventually succeed and make Tatsumi hers!" Seryu explained, causing everyone to widen their eyes slightly at what she said. "Yes, I know that Tatsumi's strong but… everytime that he'll try to avoid her, it will only make the general more determined to get through his skin. She's the type of person who'd stop at nothing to achieve what she wants, and that includes making Tatsumi hers."

"That's… a major problem, indeed…" said Leone, making her look down on the floor. "Great, now I can't think straight because of how —"

"Hey!" Sayo exclaimed, butting her way into the conversation. "If you are done chatting, Tatsumi has been captured by the most dangerous woman in the empire and I want to know what we're gonna do to help him!" The girl's sudden outburst had momentarily surprised everyone inside the room; Sayo was usually quite cheerful and easygoing, so she must be really upset for her to raise her voice like that towards her friends. "Akame, you're the acting leader right now, so what are we going to do?"

"Well, we do know that he was likely taken to the palace…" Lubbock added, crossing his arms over his chest. "But aside from that, we don't have much information about him."

Akame narrowed her eyes as she looked at the ground. The red-eyed girl couldn't help but remember the promise that Tatsumi made that fateful night. _"He promised me… he promised me that he'd always come back safely… he won't die… and I know he won't break that promise. He'll get out of there safely and come back home to us."_

"Akame…" Mine said as she walked up to their temporary leader. "I hope you're not going to suggest some ridiculous idea…" Mine glanced at _**Pumpkin**_ out of the corner of her eye and released a heavy sigh. "If we just charge in without anything else in mind, we'll be killed." Mine closed her eyes and looked to the side to hide a look of discomfort. "The palace is full of traps and guards, especially those new teigu users that's been the hot topic in the capital as of now. With Esdeath back, things are going to be harder for us. Besides, Tatsumi's real identity likely hasn't been found out, so he should be fine… I hope. He'll come back to us." A small smile appeared on her face.

" _He'll come back to me."_ she finished in her thoughts, wanting nothing more than to hug him again as she missed his warm touch.

"Mine…" Akame said, feeling an enormous wave of relief wash over her chest as she turned back to everybody else. "Okay, we can't make any rash decisions right now, so we need to take some time to calm down and collect ourselves after what we just learned. For now, we'll be temporarily moving our base deeper into the mountains to stay undetected."

"That's a pretty good idea. There's a chance that we could be found here, and with Tatsumi captured, I have the feeling that somebody's watching us in secret." Lubbock agreed, as shoved his hands into his pockets. "Well, we know what we're supposed to do now, but what are we gonna do about Tatsumi? He won't be able to hide the truth forever, not with Esdeath being on his nerves."

"I know…" Akame said, staring at the map of the capital in front of her with intent. "But like what you said, we can't just rush into the capital without a plan… but that doesn't mean that we'll just forget about our comrade! We'll do everything we can to rescue him!"

"I don't like this at all…" Sayo said, sighing as she slung her bow over her shoulder. "I want to go save Tatsumi now… but I guess you're right. We'll be killed if we tried to get him out of there now. But we better get Tatsumi back here soon. I don't want to see him get hurt at the hands of Esdeath or the minister."

"He'll come back Sayo…" Mine said with a small smile on her face, patting her best friend on the shoulder. "That idiot knows how to stay alive until he gets serious, remember? I know he'll be back, I'm sure of it." A smirk then appeared on her face. "Besides, he has one of my good pistols, so he needs to be sure to return it to me… or I'll never forgive him for it." she finished, shrugging her shoulders afterwards.

"I know…" Sayo muttered, as she lightly chuckled and remembered the promise Tatsumi made this morning. "That idiot has never broken a promise before as well… and this better not be the first time that he does."

* * *

 **(Same Time; Capital's Palace)**

"And so…" Esdeath said, presenting a tied-up Tatsumi to the rest of the Jaegers. The young man kept his look on the ground, silently thinking of a possible way to get himself out of the damn collar he had on his neck. He wasn't looking for a way to escape right now, because this would actually be a good way for him to relay some new information to Akame and the others. "This young man will be our new backup member. His name is Tatsumi."

"Um, General… you just brought a random civilian in here? Just like that?" Bols asked, rubbing the back of his head in confusion. "Isn't that a possible security risk here?"

"He'll have everything he could ever want here… he'll never want to leave this place." Esdeath said sweetly, gently caressing Tatsumi's cheek. The young assassin rolled his eyes but he still kept his head low, as there wasn't anything at the moment that could be worth listening to.

"And he's not only our backup member. I'm sure I felt it when I saw him out there. Tatsumi is going to be my lover."

Time could _sure_ change quickly.

Tatsumi's eyes shot open as he finally looked up. Did his ears have cotton or something? Did Esdeath, the most feared woman in the empire, said she wanted him as her lover? Tatsumi couldn't wrap his head around why she would want that. Did she really not know who he really was? Or did she forget all about what happened to the two of them in the past?

Easily speaking, something happened between them in the past and both him and Esdeath didn't part ways on speaking terms. But now, she wanted him to be her lover all of a sudden. Tatsumi scowled and flashed a disgusted look as Esdeath caressed his cheek again and whispered hotly into his ear.

"He's perfect… everything I could ever want in a man." she added, a large blush appearing on her face.

"If he's supposed to be your lover, then why does he have a collar around his neck? It makes him look like some kind of pet or something…" Wave piped up, pointing to the collar and chain on the brunette's neck.

"Because I like him…" Esdeath replied with a smilr, shrugging her shoulders. "He was resisting my advances earlier and I didn't want him to run away, so Ren knocked him out from behind and I slapped it on him after."

"Uh, if you want a real lover and not a pet…" Run said, chuckling nervously. "You might want to take that off, general…"

"Hmm… I suppose you're right about that. Alright, I'll take it off." she muttered, walking over towards Tatsumi before removing the tight collar. Once again, Tatsumi was scowling when Esdeath gently caressed his head and smiled at him, yet he couldn't but feel intrigued with how she was acting. "I'm sorry about doing that to you, my dear. If only you didn't try to avoid me earlier… I hope I didn't hurt you, Tatsumi."

 _"Okay, besides the fact that she doesn't remember me, this is something interesting…"_ Tatsumi thought, staring at Esdeath curiously. _"From what I've learned in rumors and from my own friends, this woman is a total monster in and out… this doesn't make sense at all…"_

"While we're on the subject of love…" Esdeath said, untying the remaining ropes that restrained Tatsumi. "Have any of you been in a relationship or married before?" Everyone was quite shocked, including Tatsumi himself, to see that Bols was the only one to raise his hand. The blue-haired general couldn't help but smirk in satisfaction. "Well, well, this is a bit surprising. Is this true, Bols?"

"Yeah…" Bols replied shyly, fidgeting his fingers in embarassment. "I've spent the last six years with my lovely wife and beautiful daughter! She's such a wonderful person and I don't deserve someone like her!"

"I'd like to speak for myself." Tatsumi said as he stood up from the ground, crossing his arms and flashed a look of defiance. "I am honored that you like me, General Esdeath… but I don't and I will never have the intention to fight for this fucking Empire." he said, narrowing his eyes.

"Heh heh." Esdeath laughed, smiling at Tatsumi as she walked towards him. "I'm going to enjoy doing something about your disobedience, as I was expecting this after I saw how you avoided me during the tournament I created." Tatsumi didn't waver at all when she whispered into his ear again, although a faint blush could be seen on his face. "I know many 'pleasurable' ways to make you an obedient boy, but… I also know many painful ways as well."

"I don't care." Tatsumi said, flashing a sadistic smirk of his own, thinking that she was out of her mind. It seemed as though she really didn't know who he was. Heh, it almost looked like he was playing her in the palm of his hand. "And I know just how to counter those pleasurable and painful ways as well, _Esdeath_." The woman narrowed her eyes but she kept her smirk; apparently, Tatsumi was more defiant than she thought and she liked it.

"Now, now." said Ren, making his way in front of the group. "This is all so sudden, even for me, and he must be having a hard time adjusting to his new life here." He then approached Tatsumi and smiled innocently. "I'm sorry for my comrades… anyway, I'm Ren Ozaki of the Imperial Guard, only lieutenant of General Esdeath and a member of the Jaegers." He then outstretched his hand for Tatsumi to shake. "If you must know, I was also the one who hit you in the back of the head earlier… so I'm… I apologize…"

"Nice to meet you, I guess…" Tatsumi said, shrugging his shoulders as he shook Ren's hand. " _This guy… is he really a part of the Imperial Guard? He seems too… nice to even be one… no, I can't let my guard down. I still need to keep a close eye on this one…"_

After shaking Ren's hand, Tatsumi turned towards the blue-haired woman near him. "I apologize if my answer disappointed you, Esdeath. But there are far too many reasons for me to resent the Empire, a few of them being personal. And that alone is enough for me to say no to whatever you want to happen" he said, looking as defiant as ever.

"It's fine, Tatsumi." Esdeath said, waving her hand nonchalantly. "I do like fighting against strong opponents and I admire the fire and passion that burns within you… it makes me want to have you more to myself… and it's driving me to succeed in my plan to make you mine. It's one of the things that drew me to you in the first place, after all."

"General Esdeath!" A palace guard exclaimed, making his way inside the room before saluting to his superior. "We have finished our reconnaissance of the area around Lake Gyogan just as you ordered!"

"What timing…" Esdeath said with a smirk, turning to face the rest of the Jaegers as Tatsumi looked on. "All of you… looks like we finally have our first big mission." The blue-haired woman gestured towards the table behind her and everyone gathered around it, with Tatsumi just standing nearby and doing his best to listen. "I'm sure you ars all aware of the bandit stronghold that's been recently developed near Lake Gyogan."

"I do, General!" Ren said, walking up towards the table. "Criminals from the capital have been taking refuge there latelt."

"Well, since we have no information on Night Raid's whereabouts, we'll temporarily put them in the back of our minds right now." Esdeath said, placing her hands on her hips. "We should focus on the enemy that's right in front of us."

"What if the enemy surrenders?" Bols asked, causing Esdeath's smirk to take a dark turn.

"Only the weak and powerless surrender…" Esdeath replied in a sadistic tone. "And it's only natural for those kinds of people to be commanded and be treated like pets." Tatsumi narrowed his eyes as he watched Esdeath, seeing that the rumors he heard were true. This woman was dangerous and he knew it, but he couldn't help but compare this attitude of hers to the way she was acting around him earlier.

" _Is it because she likes me?"_ he thought to herself.

"Alright!" Ren exclaimed, a large smile spreading across his face as the ring on his finger glowed brightly. "This is the perfect chance for me to show what I can do with my —! " However, he caught himself mid-sentence when his mind suddenly drifted to the mysterious girl that he had been thinking of ever since he first got his ring. " _Hmm, what if I get to see that girl during this mission? Oh, that would be hitting the jackpot! I can't wait to —"_ Ren suddenly closed his eyes and violently shook his head, a fierce blush appearing on his face. _"GAH! I can't be worrying about this now, I have a mission to do! Maybe after the mission… I'll see if there's a chance for me to see her again… I've been dying to see her red eyes even just for a quick second…"_

 _"Hmm, I wonder what's happening with him."_ Esdeath thought, shooting Ren a wary glance. _"I've noticed him to be awkwardly blushing almost all the time, even in a serious conversation… but why though? Well, since his teigu is now functioning properly, I don't see anything that should change from him… but I'll have to keep a close eye just in case."_ Releasing a light sigh, all the attention in the room were now focused on Esdeath. "Alright, before we depart, I want all of you to listen up. I want each of you to eliminate a minimum of a dozen men, at the least, on this mission. I trust that you're all ready for this."

"I'm a soldier of the empire and I will follow my orders without hesitation." Bols said, tightly balling his fists.

"I concur." Kurome said, grabbing her teigu, _**Yatsufusa**_ as well as her sack of candies. "I will carry out all my orders without objection. I always have and I always will."

"I owe my life to a man from the navy…" Wave said, looking down at her teigu, _**Grand Chariot**_. "When I asked how I could repay him… he told me to work my hardest for this country… so I'm going to do this… even if it costs me my life!"

"In order to grant a certain wish…" Run said, closing a small book that he was reading. "I must advance in this world, and to do that I must do distinguished acts. I may not look like it, but I'm overflowing with excitement for what is to come during our mission."

"And you, doctor?" Esdeath asked, looking at Stylish a sideways glance.

"My main principle is quite simple." Stylish said with a chuckle, slowly adjusting his glasses. "The eternal pursuit of stylishness! Do you understand, general?"

"No, I don't." Esdeath replied in a bored tone, yawning slightly. "And I honestly don't care." Releasing a light sigh, Esdeath readjusted her cap and cleared her throat. "Well, it appears that none of you are showing any signs of hesitation… and I wouldn't accept anything less." Turning around, Esdeath made her way towards the door. "Let's move out!"

Tatsumi noticed that they were ready to leave and he thought that this was the perfect time to think of a way to escape, but he didn't even sense it when Esdeath came back and gently took his hand. "You're coming too, Tatsumi."

"Huh? Wait, why me?! There's not room for me in that party, you know. Leave me be!" Tatsumi protested, but the woman paid him no heed as Esdeath led him towards the door.

"As our backup, it'll be good for you to watch everyone else fight." Esdeath replied, pulling Tatsumi close to her, specifically her chest.

 _"Give me a break… I don't like this, but I guess this is a good opportunity to observe the enemy's skills. And just wait for it… this whole joke show will stop once I remind her who I really am…"_ Tatsumi thought with a tick mark as he allowed Esdeath to drag him along.

 **(One Hour Later; Lake Gyogan Bandit Fort)**

"We've memorized the base's layout and our enemy's locations, but what is our strategy exactly?" Run asked, staring at the fortress before them.

"If I could suggest, why don't we use our enemies' brains to our advantage? ." said Ren, observing every detail of the area. "If they are smart, they'd be foolish enough to guard their most vulnerable areas solely, and it will allow us to get in there and then we'll take them head on. They won't expect it and it will allow us to take advantage of their confusion."

As the other Jaegers went over their battle strategy, Tatsumi and Esdeath observed all of them from a nearby cliff. Esdeath sat close to the brunette, but not close enough that will make him feel uncomfortable. Tatsumi huffed as he looked to the side, feeling powerless at the moment. "This is another possible opportunity to escape, but there's no way I'd make it far, I think. Without _**Starfall**_ , I'd have no choice but to run on my own feet… and I'm not sure if Esdeath could keep up with me, but I'd not risk it. Oh well, now that I'm here, I could get a good read on the Jaegers' power, so I can tell everyone about this new information when I eventually escape."

"We'll watch the battle unfold from up here." Esdeath said, crossing her legs. "It should be quite the show, so let's pay attention closely."

 _"I wonder how Leone and Lubbock are taking this… I sure hope they're not letting their emotions get the better of them… they could get killed if they try to go after me right now…"_ Tatsumi said in his thoughts, narrowing his eyes. However, he was then surprised when Esdeath reached over softly squeezed one of his hands. Sneaking a glance towards the woman, Tatsumi saw a small smile and a bright blush on Esdeath's face, further making him more intrigued and confused with her personality. _"I don't get this woman. One second, she acts like this and then the next thing you know, she's a heartless killer… well, we'll see how this plays out after I remind her of what happened years ago…"_

"Watch closely, Tatsumi." Esdeath said, spotting the rest of the Jaegers as they approached the bandit camp. "This is going to be quite the show."

The bandit fort was quiet in the night, with most of the men already asleep and some still roaming around to patrol and keep watch. The guard who was watching over the front entrance was doing his best to stay awake, but too much fatigue won him over. However, just as his eyelids began to close, he still managed to spot several figures approaching the front gate. Shooting up to his feet, the guard sounded the alarm. "We've got intruders coming! Everyone, get your lazy asses up and prepare for battle!"

Just from that simple alarm, the camp sprang back to life as bandits everywhere raced to grab guns and other various weapons they could use to defend their hideout. In less than a minute, the entire camp was already gathered at the front gate. When the bandits had finished assembling together, they were all surprised to see only six intruders approaching their position.

"Oi! Do you idiots know where you are?!"

"Yeah, you've got some serious balls to just march up to our front door like this! Do you know whose territory you just stepped on?!"

"There's no way we're gonna let you live now just so you could tell anybody about our hideout! You idiots know that, right?!"

"Hey, boys! They got a cute little kid with them!"

"Hell yeah! Let's finish this quick and have some fun with that cutie!"

Unfortunately, none of the bandits had any idea just who they were up against.

"I will clear the path for us." Ren said, running towards the group of bandits. "In the name of the empire, will take you all down. " Ren outstretched right arm, just as the ring on his finger started to glow. The man closed his eyes only to open them immediately again as both of his arms burst in flames. "HRRRAAAAAGGGGHHH!" he screamed out, throwing out a bunch of fireballs towards the first wave of bandits, setting them ablaze.

"AAAAAARRRRRGGGHHH!"

"IT BURNS! IT BURNS!"

"GOD HELP ME, I'M ON FIRE!"

Countless other screams could be heard as the other bandits were all taken aback with what Ren just did, while the other Jaegers looked somewhat impressed. "For the Empire!" he screamed out again, using both of his hands to create a long and continuous stream of fire, burning everything and everyone in his sight.

"Shit! This kid is out of his mind! We have to alert the boss! Hurry up with your shit and get those damn gates closed!"

"That won't help you." Ren said, bringing his hands close to each other as he begun to create a fireball, this time making it bigger and bigger. Only a few seconds have passed, yet the fireball that he was creating was already near the size of the gates to the bandits' fortress. "Burn away!" With a mighty roar, Ren easily destroyed the gates with a huge explosion and blew some of their enemies away.

 _"Wow… I've never seen a teigu that can control fire before… this dude must be powerful as hell… we're gonna have trouble dealing with this guy… then again, he looked like a nice guy when he introduced himself to me earlier."_ Tatsumi thought, staring at the massacre before him in disbelief. The front part the fort was filled with dozens of bodies, all burned alive to a crisp. _"If all the Jaegers are as strong as this guy… this is a serious problem on our hands…"_

"I don't think we even need to be here." Wave said, chuckling nervously as he stared in awe at the destruction around him. "Man, I never thought Ren could be this powerful…"

"Heh, with that ring of his, we are such a perfect match." Stylish said with a smirk, adjusting his glasses. Raising his hands, Stylish revealed his teigu. " _ **The Glorious Hands of God:Perfector**_. This teigu increases the speed of my fingers' by a mile. It's the ultimate stylish teigu!" He snapped his fingers and pointed at Run and Wave. "No matter how serious or grave your injury is, as long as you're not dead, I can fix you up perfectly and as stylish as ever! If you want me to, I can even throw in some stylish cyborg weapons that I've stored!"

"Haha, I think I'll make a pass on those weapons…" said Run with a nervous chuckle as he sweatdropped.

"I'm totally fine with the healing…" Wave said, standing protectively in front of Stylish. "But since you've got a support-type teigu, you'll need to be protected from the enemy."

"Heh heh, save that sweetness for when we're alone, don't you think?" Stylish said, poking Wave's cheek with his finger.

 _"If he touches me one more time, I'm going to kill him before he even gets a scratch from the bandits."_ Wave thought as his eyebrow twitched in irritation.

"Come forth!" Stylish exclaimed, snapping his fingers. At his signal, a mob of masked people surrounded the doctor. "My reinforced soldiers!" Stylish smirked when he saw the surprised looks on the rest of the Jaegers' faces, as they weren't expecting him to come up with something like this. "These are my personal stylish soldiers, who I've strengthened and enhanced with surgeries performed with my own teigu. If this battle were to be a game of chess, they'd be my pawns and I am the king. To be able to make a stylish weapon comparable with a teigu… is my ultimate dream."

"Um… I hate to interrupt…" Run said, pointing towards the demolished gate behind them. "While we were sitting here chatting with each other, Kurome already went in."

"Damn, she's fast." Wave whistled, placing his hands on his hips.

"Tch, that little brat should have been listening to my stylish explanation. It's such a waste to use my stylish voice and have no one listening." Stylish said, crossing his arms over his chest in irritation as he rolled his eyes.

Inside the fort, Kurome had separated from Ren's point of range and began to cut her way through any bandits she could see, as flawless and clean as a master assassin. Eventually, Kurome then found herself at the center of the fort, with a trail of bisected and headless bandits in her tracks. However, when Kurome stepped out into the courtyard, she was immediately surrounded by a large group of bandits.

"Th-This girl…"

"This brat may be cute, but she's fucking deadly!"

"We have to take her out quick and kill her other friends after!"

All of the bandits readied their weapons and prepared to attack Kurome all at once in an attempt to catch her off guard. But just in the blink of an eye, Kurome had leaped out of the circle of bandits and landed behind them safely. Before anyone could even react however, Kurome charged forward with _**Yatsufusa**_. In an instant, the bandits fell to Kurome's blade one-by-one as their heads rolled on the ground. Blood stained her sword and the ground, and severed limbs were scattered all over the courtyard. Kurome smiled as she sheathed _**Yatsufusa**_ , before she began munching on one of the candies in her sack.

"I didn't even have to use any of my abilities… how shameful." Kurome said, crouching down next to one of the dead bandits. "If I cleaned you all up and rearranged you properly, we could play together forever… my cute little dolls."

However, just as Kurome continued to inspect the dead bandits closer, apparently she didn't notice a single survivor who hid just around a corner. The bandit gritted his teeth before he readied his pistol and took aim at Kurome. But before he could even fire his weapon, Wave flew into the scene and kicked the bandit in the jaw. The bandit flew away as a result and got his head smashed against a wall, killing him instantly.

"There's no need to thank me." Wave said in a cocky tone, placing his hands in his pockets as he walked towards Kurome with an 'I just saved your life' aura. Wave thought he couldn't possibly look any cooler right now, but his hopes fell considerably when Kurome spoke again.

"Uh, I already knew he was there." Kurome said in a bored tone, pulling out a hidden throwing knife. "But, because of you I didn't have to waste this… so thanks, I guess."

"Oh… you're welcome, then." Wave said in a dejected tone, hanging his head in defeat as Kurome walked away from him.

In another part of the bandit's fort, Bols was dodging a large volley of arrows as he ran towards one of the outer walls. Bols dove behind it to take cover as he prepared his flamethrower-teigu, _**Purgatory's Invitation: Rubicante**_. Taking a deep breath, Bols leaped out of his cover just as another volley of arrows was shot at him. "Someone has to do this job." he said as a searing stream of flames erupted from _**Rubicante**_. The arrows that were flying towards him were instantly burned to ashes and the entire wall was covered in flames. Soon, the air was filled with the bandits' screams that were unfortunate enough to be caught in Bols' flames. All of the burning bandits began to scramble around, searching for anything to put out the scorching fire.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE THESE FLAMES?!" A burning bandit yelled as he dumped an entire bucket of water onto his body. But to his horror, the flames weren't extinguished nor even died down. "SHIT, THEY WON'T GO OUT EVEN AFTER I DUMPED WATER ON THEM!" The burning bandit collapsed to the ground and desperately clawed towards his comrades who were lucky enough to be spared from the flames. "THIS IS AS WORSE AS THAT STUPID KID EARLIER!"

"This isn't funny, man!"

"Fuck this shit! I'm getting out of this hellhole! I want to live!"

"We gotta book it man! These freak-shows are taking over!"

All of the surviving bandits began to make their escape out of the fort, giving up hope that they could win this. However, before they could even run a few meters away, something had already pierced their skulls. Two of the bandits immediately collapsed to the ground dead, but one managed to turn around and catch a glimpse of his killer. However, all he saw was what appeared to be an angel framed against the moon, before his entire world went black.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot allow anyone to escape." Run said, flying in the air with his winged-teigu, _**Thousand Mile Flight: Mastema**_ , before he proceeded to kill the remaining bandits with his teigu's razor-sharp feathers, throwing them against their enemies' heads and necks.

In the aftermath, the bandit fort at Lake Gyogan lay in flaming ruins and it could hardly be even called a fort anymore. There were bodies everywhere and the air reeked of blood. The Jaegers fell back immediately after making sure that there were no more survivors, their first mission as a group being successful.

Up on his vantage point, Tatsumi stared at the destruction that lay before him in a mix of awe and terror. "D-Damn…" Tatsumi breathed out, just as an explosion rang out from the bandit fort. Even from afar, he could see Bols and Ren working together to dispose of the whole fortress completely with their flames. "This ain't good… great, just great. These guys are all strong as hell and they are being led by the strongest person in the Empire. I have to get out of here as soon as I can and warn the others… they have to know this so we could train to the absolute limit if we want to have any chance of standing up to them…"

"Tatsumi… I'll personally train you." Esdeath's sweet voice suddenly pulled Tatsumi out of his thoughts. "And then you'll be able to do things like that."

"Heh, I don't need someone to train me because I can do it myself… but thanks, nonetheless. Also…" Tatsumi said, turning to face Esdeath with a small smirk on his face, feeling the urge to mess with this woman for a little bit. "You're actually pretty nice… and it's really confusing me."

"Is that so?" Esdeath said with an amused smile, resting her head on her hand. The empire's strongest general had a slight blush on her face as she leaned toward Tatsumi. "Am I different from the stories you've heard about me?"

Tatsumi didn't answer for a few moments before he finally shrugged his shoulders. "Hell yeah. From what I've heard in the rumors, I expected you to be some heartless monster who just goes around killing people, a little exanple is knocking me out when I won your little tournament." Esdeath appeared to be unfazed by Tatsumi's words, but in truth, what she heard from his mouth stung her a little on the inside.

He then stood up and planted his hands inside his pockets. "But… now that I've spent even a litte bit of time with you… it's getting really confusing. I can obviously see your sadistic side, but I've also seen your sweet and caring side… and I'm really confused by it. But, I'd be lying if I said that I didn't like that particular side of you." With each word that Tatsumi spoke, Esdeath's blush darkened.

He chuckled lightly as a small blush appeared on his cheeks. "Plus… you're a beautiful woman… in fact, one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen…" It wasn't a lie, though; Esdeath was a stunning woman and if only she wasn't working for the empire, he could've fallen head over heels for her. Just like what he wanted to happen, his acting seemed to have his desired effect. Esdeath released a slight gasp and clutched a hand over her thundering heart.

"Tatsumi, I… I've never felt this way before…" Esdeath said with a growing smile, her blush darkening once again. "I've never loved someone like this before… it… it feels… it's strange… but… it's not bad."

She was then caught off guard when he grabbed her chin and tilted her head upwards so she was looking at his eyes; Esdeath didn't sense anything bad coming from him, which is why she didn't react differently at all. Her blush darkened even more, as she was staring into the face of her love.

"To be honest, I'll enjoy your sadistic self, if it was being sadistic in _other areas_ … you get what I mean, right?" he whispered with a smirk, leaning over towards her lips, close to kissing the woman. "I may not have the desire to work for the Empire, but that doesn't mean that I don't care about its people. Maybe you should try and look at the other side of things, and there's a chance that you'll get what you want after… including the one you love…"

Esdeath didn't listen to him at all, because she was too focused on his handsome face, as if she was hypnotized with his features alone. She never knew that Tatsumi could be this… bold and daring because most men would never even dream of laying a hand on the Empire's strongest.

Then all of a sudden, Tatsumi shook his head. " _Shit, what's happening to me? Why did I say those words?! Shit, shit, shit! I shouldn't be thinking about this! I need to stay focused in reminding her who I am! Stop falling for your urges, idiot! This woman is still the same as before!"_ he berated himself, letting go of her as he moved away, looking horrified with his own actions.

Although disappointed, Esdeath could tell that something was wrong when Tatsumi released her chin and suddenly moved away from her. The blue-haired general took a few deep breaths to caln herself before she looked at her love. "Tatsumi? Is everything alright?" she asked, making him snap out of his thoughts.

"O-Oh, I'm fine! S-Sorry for making you worry! Hehe…" Tatsumi exclaimed, nervously chuckling as he rubbed the back of his head. "I-I… I was just wondering where I'd be staying from now on since I'm gonna be stuck with you."

"Oh that's easy…" Esdeath said with a cute blush, walking up towards Tatsumi and ran her hand down his cheek. "You'll be staying in my room."

 _"Fuck…_ " Tatsumi thought as his eyes shot wide open. _"This is either going to be really good…or really bad. I just hope these damn urges will be gone by then! I don't think I can handle this woman's appeal and I won't be able to stick to my plan! Why did she have to grow up to be like this?!"_

* * *

 **(Two Hours Later; Esdeath's Room)**

Tatsumi nervously sat at the edge of Esdeath's bed, the sounds of a running shower filling the room. The young assassin's mind was racing, doing his best to stay sane and stick to what his plan was. Tonight would be his best chance to tell Esdeath the truth behind him, where no one else but them could hear it but he couldn't seem to concentrate. His mind kept wandering into the open space… thinking of dirty visions regarding Esdeath herself while in the bathroom.

However, Tatsumi was luckily pulled out of his thoughts when he heard the door to the bathroom open. When he turned to look at Esdeath, he expected her to be fully dressed or in a robe.

 _Hell, even naked, hehehehe._

Tatsumi had to cover his nose to prevent a possible nosebleed at that thought.

 _Why did he have to be an inner pervert?_

But he did not expect her to walk into the room wearing just a short white button-up shirt, one that barely reached down a few centimeters below her hips, showing that she had no underwear. Esdeath had left the several top buttons of her shirt undone, exposing her upper stomach and cleavage to him. Tatsumi's eyes widened and his mouth slowly fell open as he stared at Esdeath's barely clothed body, mainly her large breasts which looked like they were about to pop out of her shirt. Esdeath herself was very well-endowed, and he couldn't help but admire that fact about her.

 _So much for trying to resist her._

"Sorry for making you wait." Esdeath said, brushing some of her damp hair off of her face.

"I-It's no problem… I understand…" Tatsumi muttered, as he turned his head to the side, trying to hide the fact that he was blatantly fantasizing about Esdeath.

Esdeath thought Tatsumi's flustered face was very cute, causing her to chuckle slightly. She sat down next to him and smiled. "Would you like anything to drink?"

"N-No, I'm fine." Tatsumi muttered, doing his best to stay calm and collected.

"You seem awfully nervous, Tatsumi. Are you feeling alright?" Esdeath asked, deciding to tease him a little. Esdeath then pressed her forehead against his as he groaned slightly. "Hmm, it doesn't feel like you have a fever or anything…"

"I'm fine. There's no need to worry about me." he grumbled, seemingly returning back to his earlier attitude.

"That's a shame… I liked your nervous side… you're cuter that way." Esdeath said, smirking slightly as she crossed her arms. "Well, I don't know the proper etiquette for these kind of things… but if we follow what our hearts are saying, everything should work out just fine, don't you think?"

"Huh?" Tatsumi said in a confused tone, getting her attention. "Oh, that's right. You said you wanted me to be your lover, didn't you?"

Instead of answering with words, Tatsumi was completely caught off guard when Esdeath lunged forward and captured his lips in a passionate kiss. His eyes widened as he watched the same girl from his past kiss him just like how a lover would. Every natural instinct of him said to push her off him and get his thoughts back on track, but he couldn't muster the strength to do it, and if he was going to be honest he didn't want to.

Esdeath surely has grown into a fine woman after all these years, and it was shocking for him to find out that she was actually a general of the Empire now, much less the strongest person it has to offer. She had gone through a massive change ever since he last saw her, where it was during a tournament and she was still surprisingly kind and caring back then, with hints of her sadistic self starting to show. It really caught him off guard with her change in her personality as if he had just solved a murder.

The woman's lips were incredibly soft and she was surprisingly a good kisser, despite having no prior experience in the aspect of romance. However, as Tatsumi kissed Esdeath he couldn't help but feel like he was betraying Akame and Leone, the first two women in his life. He knew that both girls had agreed to share and were willing to include any new girls that wished to join them, but he couldn't help but feel guilty. First, it was because he was kissing an enemy and second, he was blah, blah, blah…

He'd deal with the consequences later, but for now he would simply enjoy this kiss. Like how he would show Akame and Leone the wonders of their relationship, Tatsumi's hands snaked towards her back, gripping her shirt tightly as if he was trying to take it off. For now, he could let this slide and treat Esdeath like a normal person just for once, before he'd tell her the truth.

Esdeath giggled into his mouth when she felt his hands roaming around her back, and she was enjoying it. Most men would rather dig their own graves than kiss her, and yet Tatsumi was here kissing her, with enough aggression to try and take off her own clothes.

Sooner than they both realized it, Esdeath broke off the kiss, and she was straddling Tatsumi's hips. "If I didn't love you…" Esdeath said, as she gently stroked Tatsumi's cheek. "I wouldn't have done that… do you feel the same way as I do, Tatsumi? No other man could have the guts to have this stupid shirt off of me except for you… do you desire me that much, my love? And your aggression is remarkable like you are already experienced in this… although I'll have to say that it won't happen often, I'll let you enjoy it for now…" she said with a sly smirk, unbuttoning one more button to show half of her enormous jigs beneath her clothes.

 _"Shit, I better take advantage now before something else happens that I'll regret…"_ Tatsumi thought as he took a deep breath to calm his raging hormones. "Can I tell you something first? It's something important and I think you deserve to know."

"All right, go on ahead." Esdeath said, playing with the hem of his pants. "Say it nice and loud so I could hear you, Tatsumi."

Tatsumi smirked and flipped her over, causing him to be the one on top of her and Esdeath was on the bottom. Her eyes widened slightly at what he just did, but no words came out of her mouth. He was grinning down on her, and Esdeath couldn't help but compare his face to a similar figure from her past many years ago.

"Some things are faster than they seem. Don't you agree, _Little Miss Perfect_?" he said in a low tone.

Esdeath could only gasp in shock as various memories began to flood her mind.

* * *

 _ **Well, well, well, Tatsumi has met the rest of the Jaegers and he even met the dude who's secretly fawning over his girlfriend! He's not a nice guy, Tatsumi! Trust me!**_

 _ **And wow, he's good in trying to resist Esdeath throughout this chapter, but that nearly failed in the end though. Good thing he was able to stay sane until he finally said the truth!**_

 _ **Ohohohoho, we'll finally get to see the history between Tatsumi and Esdeath next chapter! Are you excited? Stay tuned!**_

 _ **Harem (Final): Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **If you want to catch up with me and your other favorite writers, join our Discord server:**_

[discord . gg / uDxVym8]

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	19. Kill the Memory

"Normal Talking"

" _Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters…**_

* * *

 **Flashback**

Tatsumi had no say in this, but he had no choice.

As long as his parents would both agree, he knew that he would have no chance of winning against them in an argument, whatever it was about.

Luckily for him, Sayo and Ieyasu were both willing to help him along the way. They had saved him the trouble of sneaking into the hut of the village leader to grab a map of the Northern Region a few nights ago, and he was entirely grateful to the both of them.

Apparently, there was a tournament being held near the border of the Northern region and the capital and the said reward for winning it was six sacks of gold, which would be enough to feed him and the other villagers enough food for about two years. Since his 'parents' had some kind of authority in the village itself, he was recommended by his own father that he'll be the one to fight in the said tournament for the sake of the village.

It was a bit unfair for his part, but even he had to admit, it was reasonable. Out of everyone in his village, it was only him that actually had free time and was trained in fighting. Being 10 years old saves him from the troubles brought on by hunting danger beasts and fishing for their own survival. Therefore, it was decided by the village leader for him to journey towards the Northern Region and fight in the tournament for their home.

And that was exactly the reason why he was packing up at the moment; he was alone in his house, with his parents out for their 'business'. Tatsumi couldn't help but think about the how the village would fare without him. No, it's not like he was thinking that some kind of gigantic danger beast or even troops from the capital would swoop in and raid them. It's just that he had never went on a trip with a destination that had such a long distance from his home.

Hearing two knocks on the door snapped Tatsumi out of his thoughts as he turned to look at the doorway, where his two good friends were standing.

"Wow, it's been only four days since you found out about that tournament, and you're already packing up for it? I thought you didn't want to go there in the first place?" asked Sayo with a smirk.

"Well I have no choice, what do you want me to do about it?" Tatsumi retorted with a smirk of his own.

"Oh, cheer up! I was just kidding!" The girl then lunged forward to hug her longtime friend and crush, before Ieyasu did the same. "Hey Tatsumi, don't you think you should take a rest from this? We don't want you to overstress yourself so me and Ieyasu were planning to go to the Southern forest to hunt for a bit. What do you say?"

"Sorry, Sayo… I'm really busy right now and I need to get this done before tomorrow. So… I'll let you hold on to that offer, okay? I'll go hunting with you next time." he answered, causing Sayo to pout.

"So, since you're way too busy packing up right now to even go on a simple hunting trip, I'm guessing that you're leaving sooner than we thought?" said Ieyasu.

"Sadly, yeah…" he announced, surprising both Ieyasu and Sayo. "My mother and father told me that the tournament is going to take place one week from now, so if I want to join in, I'll have to leave first thing in the morning tomorrow." He looked at his two friends, who were both on the verge of tears, fearing that he might never come back. Chuckling slightly, he shook his head playfully. "Don't be like that… I'll be back, don't worry."

"B-But… But…" Sayo tried to answer, but got silenced when Tatsumi stepped forward and wrapped her in a tight hug.

"I'll be back, I promise… it's not like I'll be gone forever. Besides, do you really think that some tournament is gonna stop me? I'm going to win those sacks of gold for the village… I'll win it for everyone. I'll show whatever enemy I have to face what I learned in the training camp after all those years working my butt of to be a fighter." He said as Sayo buried her face into his shirt.

Ieyasu suddenly cleared his throat to gain Tatsumi's attention. "Being overconfident can lead to your defeat, Tatsumi. You should keep calm and focus on the fight instead of your own ego." he said, smirking.

"Tch, as if they didn't teach that at the training camp… come here, you big idiot! I know you want a hug as well!" he exclaimed, causing Ieyasu to scowl for a second before eventually smiling as he accepted the three-way hug.

Nothing could ever separate these three apart.

* * *

It felt like only a day has passed, but eventually, Tatsumi found himself standing outside the small village where the tournament was supposed to be held. The arena was in the middle of the whole place, with its size alone taking up half of the village. It turned out that the location was actually located near Western Region instead of the capital, and Tatsumi got lost a few times along the way.

" _Heh, like that could stop me."_

Still, that didn't stop him from reaching his goal. Ultimately, it took him 6 days to make the journey, but it wasn't easy. It involved him getting only four hours of sleep every night to continue his travel, as well as having to face countless danger beasts along the way. In order to reach the arena, the young boy had to solely rely on his survival skills and wits alone, and for the first time in his life, he was thankful for having been sent to the training camp as it taught him on how to adapt and survive in the outside world.

There were a few times at night where he would think of his two friends at the village as well as the welfare of his home as a whole. He was worried about everyone back there even when he was supposed to be thinking about the tournament and what would be there waiting for him, but it was just a sign of how selfless and caring he was.

Wearing a hooded cloak to conceal his identity per the orders of the village leader, Tatsumi made his way down the high cliff that he was standing on while throwing his hood up, thinking that it was the right time to stay away from people he doesn't know, since he was all alone during this journey.

" _I better find a nearby motel… the tournament's not due until tomorrow, so I should get a good night's rest while there's still time."_ he thought to himself, keeping his hold on his pack tight as he treaded through the rocky pass.

* * *

Esdeath looked up at her father with a smile; apparently, word has reached her village about a fighting tournament where people from all across the country could participate. The only catch was that there were no Imperial Guards watching over the said tournament, which could only mean one thing.

This was an illegal tournament without permission from the capital.

But fortunately, the girl did not care at all whatsoever.

All she cared about was fighting and becoming stronger than anyone.

She may look like an innocent, fourteen-year old girl who has no business participating in an illegal event like this, but this was where one of the key rules in life applies, which was to not judge a book by its cover.

"Father, are you sure that the tournament is tomorrow?" Esdeath asked, noticing the quiet atmosphere in the whole village as she walked through the place. Earlier, she was excited upon the aspect of being in a brand new place instead of just her home, where she had beaten every other fighter their village had to offer. But seeing now that things were all quiet around here, either something must have happened or something bad happened to the village leader that shut all the people up.

"That is correct. We'll spend the night at the nearest hotel here and then get ready for the event tomorrow." the man replied, keeping his gaze ahead of them.

"How disappointing. I had hoped that I would be able to fight somebody today…"

"If you remember my teachings child, it's that you have to be patient. The time will come, in only a few hours that is, for you to get what you want. Plus, you have to be well-rested so you could be at your full strength tomorrow."

Esdeath crossed her arms and smirked. "I don't need to rest. With all the men I have beaten at our village, I fully believe that I would win this tournament… unless someone who actually has potential steps up against me, then I would have to take this seriously."

"I fully believe you, Esdeath…" he flashed a smirk of his own as he led the girl to the hotel his eyes had just found. "With how you've proven your skills in the countless battles you've had in our home village, I have no doubts about you winning this. However, it will interest me to see if there is someone with potential to stand up against you and possibly, beat you."

"W-What?" The girl looked shocked for a moment. "Father, you aren't saying that I'll lose, aren't you? Because no matter what, I _will_ win this and prove that all of my enemies are nothing but weak."

"Not likely, but it's not impossible…" he said, shaking his head. "Whatever happens, you must not lose your focus and you must not underestimate your opponent. You never know when they are hiding something during a battle; plus, you are about to face opponents from all across the regions, so you have no idea what they can do when you face them." he explained as the two of them walked inside the hotel.

"Fine…" Esdeath grumbled, scowling as she looked away. "But I promise you, I _will_ win this tournament… no matter who I face, I will defeat them and prove they are weak." While her father was talking with the owner of the establishment, Esdeath was sitting on one of the chairs situated in the room, thinking deeply to herself. " _If anyone proves to be stronger than they are, then they might get my respect…"_ she thought, before someone who just sat on one of the chairs opposite to hers caught her attention.

He looked like a normal boy, no taller than her yet he was keeping his identity concealed with the hooded cloak that he was wearing. She noticed that his pack was just a simple messenger bag, which must mean that he is a travelling child. " _What's a child like him doing in a village like this?"_ she asked herself.

She looked at his clothes, but she only managed to catch a glimpse of the black shirt that he was wearing underneath his cloak, which looked torn and ragged even from a distance. His blue pants made it look like he tripped on mud or something sticky yet his cloak did not look dirty at all, possibly meaning that he had just worn it recently to… cover his identity, maybe?

" _Why am I thinking about this?"_ she asked herself. " _I shouldn't be focusing on trivial things like this… I need to stay focused for the tournament tomorrow…"_

But then it felt like her personal world suddenly crashed when he turned his head to the side, locking his eyes with hers.

* * *

" _Wow, who's that girl?"_ Tatsumi thought to himself, feeling his nervousness die down. Just earlier, he was feeling a bit off because it felt like he was being watched by some unknown individual and Tatsumi didn't like the idea of being stalked.

But now, he felt like he was becoming calmer by the second. " _Wait, was she the one who was watching me?"_ Almost immediately, his nervousness once again showed up and took over, before he realized that he wasn't supposed to be feeling this way. Shaking his head, his emerald eyes locked gazes with the girl's eyes, looking at her with suspicion.

" _She doesn't look like an enemy…"_ he said to himself, closely observing the girl across the room. He then took notice of her appearance; the girl had long light blue hair as well as blue eyes, which greatly complemented her slender figure. She was wearing a white and green robe with a Jackaleo fur scarf wrapped around her neck, green-black leather elbow gloves each wrapped with three fasteners, and white-green pants with a black leather belt worn around her hips. Overall, her whole outfit made it look like she was some kind of hunter or something but Tatsumi wasn't paying attention to that little detail.

" _Wow… she's… really pretty…"_ he thought, finding himself openly staring at the girl and deeming her as beautiful. Well, it wasn't his fault that he was gawking at a pretty gal, as it was pretty normal for a ten-year old kid to be a victim of puppy love and infatuation. " _Could she… be fighting in the tournament as well? Wait, no… that's impossible… she's a girl, I don't see someone like her entering…"_

The mysterious girl quirked an eyebrow at him, and Tatsumi immediately looked alarmed because there might be something wrong with him, before he remembered that he was wearing a hooded cloak, which only showed his eyes and a small part of his face, causing him to sweat-drop.

However, before he could even turn his attention back to the girl, a man who was of tall height approached her, and Tatsumi could point him out as the man standing at the counter talking with the owner of the place earlier. "Esdeath, let's head to our room." the man spoke in a low tone.

" _So her name is Esdeath… what a weird name…"_ Tatsumi thought to himself as he watched the girl leave with her father, off to head to their room. However, even _he_ could notice that the bluenette was keeping her gaze towards him instead of where she was heading to. " _Okay, that's enough… you didn't come here to have a crush on someone, Tatsumi…"_ he reminded himself, standing up to head to the counter so he could book a room to stay the night as well. " _You're here to win that tournament for the village, got it? I didn't come all this way for a girl… get a hold of yourself!"_

* * *

" _Who was that boy?"_ Esdeath asked herself as her father opened the door to their room. " _I know he's using a cloak to conceal his identity but for what purpose? It's not like there are any guards from the capit out to raid this village…"_ That last thought got to her head as she quickly turned to look at her father.

"Father?" she called out, gaining the older man's attention.

"What is it?" he turned around to see the girl sprawled out on the bed, looking up at the ceiling with a curious expression on her face.

"Is this village a safe place?" she asked, causing her old man's eyes to widen slightly. "Earlier, there was a hooded boy in the lobby and I think it's rather careful of him to pull off something like that… and I believe it might have something to do with this village itself. Is there a reason behind it, father?"

"Actually yes, daughter." the man sighed, causing Esdeath to sit up from the bed in surprise. "This village is actually known for being a black market, where most of the drug dealers meet and have agreements with buyers and not only that… other illegal activities happen here most of the time… why do you think I insisted coming along with you even though I know you can find your way here?"

"Then why participate in the tournament here in the first place? If this place is crawling with smugglers and dealers, then there's no doubt that the capital would raid this land soon… and now that you mention it, the tournament that is taking place tomorrow might be illegal as well." she questioned, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Yes, that may be true. The tournament is indeed an illegal one since the capital has no knowledge of this but the reward is not a joke. Six sacks of gold are waiting for the winner of tomorrow's tournament and as the village chief, that amount would surely help us keep the welfare and health of our home as well as it is… remember one of the first lessons I taught you. 'The strong survive and the weak die.' The moment our village can no longer stand on its own, we are nothing but weak. Do you understand, child?"

"I… I do, father." she answered, nodding although it seemed like she was caught in a trance and she had no choice but to agree.

"Then, I don't see why we are having this conversation…" the man suddenly grinned and walked towards his daughter, patting his daughter on the head softly. "Let's get something to eat and let's call it a night after. The tournament is tomorrow, and you have to be ready for it."

Esdeath could only grin back and nod again in agreement.

* * *

It only felt like a few hours, but it was now the time.

The day of the tournament had finally arrived, and Tatsumi couldn't help but feel both nervous and excited at the same time. Nervous because he had no idea on what was going to happen to him once he steps out into the battlefield and excited because he wanted to see how he would apply the training he's been into against other opponents.

He had already registered himself as an official entrant, along with 16 other people and the competitors would each step out into the arena at the mention of their names, before they eventually fight. Of course, he wasn't stupid enough to use his real name and used a fake alias. Since the tournament is not registered and approved by the capital, fighting to the death is not illegal and is therefore, allowed but matches can also end when one is defeated or forfeits.

He was still wearing his cloak, which covered his entire body except for a small part of his face and his eyes. He needed to stay anonymous if he wanted to keep his identity and his village safe, especially because he was in a dangerous place. His pack was left back at the hotel, as he didn't need anything else to bring to the arena other than his clothes and his own self.

" _I think it wouldn't hurt to go up and watch among the audience…"_ he thought to himself, noticing the lineup of competitors ahead of him. " _It's not against the rules to sneak away from here, right? Ah, fuck it… this tournament is an illegal event, anyway… who cares about the rules?"_ he joked to himself, chuckling slightly.

Making his way through the dark hallways of the arena, it didn't take long for him to reach the staircase that led to the audience's seats, where massive cheers from the crowd erupted as the sound of a gunshot rang throughout the entire arena, signifying that the event was starting. Not wanting to miss the action and so he could make a quick entrance down on the battlefield, Tatsumi made his way to the guard railings and caught on to what was happening down below.

A man of average height with wild green hair and was wearing a torn and ragged rebel outfit made his way to the center of the arena, holding a gun in his hand. With a wide grin, he aimed his weapon to the sky and fired once again, causing the entire audience to stop in their cheers, calming down in their seats.

"People from all over the country! Are you ready?!" he spoke.

Cheers erupted from all sides of the arena, surprising Tatsumi with how fiery the crowd was.

"I can't hear you! I said… ARE YOU READY?!"

The cheers became louder than before that Tatsumi had to wince. " _Damn, what a hot crowd… is this really how people support illegal activities? With cheers and thunderous applause?"_ he thought to himself, observing his surroundings in disappointment.

"Now, that's the spirit! Today's fuckin' event is gonn' be a damn tournament! And like all the past tournaments we've had in this bloody village, there are no rules at all! Screw the rules! The fighters can fight however they want! Let them play dirty or fair and square, I don't care! As long as there's only one man left standing!"

" _Really? You can fight however you want? This really is an illegal event… oh well, as long as I can get the winner's prize for the village…"_ he thought, shrugging his shoulders.

"The fighters will be selected randomly and will fight in separate rounds… and the one who comes out on top after all the matches will be declared the winner!" The man paused for a moment to let the audience roar loudly in excitement before speaking again. "The winner will receive six full sacks of gold from the village leader himself! Now, isn't this exciting?!" he pointed towards one of the spectator boxes, where another guy held up each one of the sacks of gold and causing the audience to start whistling and humming in amazement.

" _Looks like it's not a scam… otherwise, the work I put in just to get to this place will be for nothing…"_ Tatsumi said to himself, sighing in relief.

"Now, enough talking! Let's get on with the first fight because I'm looking for carnage and broken bones!" he said, gesturing to the west side of the arena. "Coming in from the west corner, give it up for An'ukatheon of the Southern tribes!"

At the sound of his name, a large imposing man stepped out into the arena and let out a roar that got the audience excited. He had black hair and was wearing traditional tribal clothes, along with a spear as his weapon. "This one's a fighter just from his appearance!" the announcer in the middle of the place continued. "But this is not going to be any good without a worthy opponent!" He gestured to the eastern side of the arena.

A blue-haired girl in her early teens walked out, revealing herself to the entire audience, which caused a mixed reaction from the people there. Some were dead silent because a kid entered a dangerous event while some were cheering, having a feeling that this would be something good despite the obvious advantages that An'ukatheon had.

" _No way… she… really joined something like this? I… I never would have thought… so I was right all along, wasn't I?"_ For Tatsumi, he couldn't be any more shocked. He had thought that she was joining the tournament in this village at first, only to shake it off since she was a girl and wasn't the type to be someone who can fight, and this was definitely surprising and he was now thinking that the girl might have signed up for her own death sentence.

"In the eastern corner, she may be small but she definitely packs a mean punch! From the icy Northern Region, we have Esdeath of the Partas clan!" At the sound of her name, the bluenette only crossed her arms and smirked as the audience went nuts once again, with her father watching not too far among them, keeping quiet so he could focus solely on his daughter.

Both fighters walked closer to the middle of the arena, keeping fierce looks directed towards each other. The larger An'ukatheon knew better than to act smug and underestimate an opponent, so he kept quiet. Meanwhile, Esdeath was only smirking at him as if she had the whole situation under control. The announcer then cleared his throat once again so he could speak.

"This match ends when one admits defeat, knocked out, or killed! No time limit and definitely no illegal movements! Anything goes! Fighters ready? FIGHT!" he announced, beginning the battle at the sound of another gunshot.

" _I don't mean to be rude, but… I can't even see her lasting five minutes here… especially against a tribal warrior like that guy…"_ Tatsumi thought to himself, drifting his attention to his own thoughts. " _Why did she even think of joining something as dangerous as this? Could it be because of the prize money? Or… something else? Well, either way… I better get ready to watch the next match because I —!"_ he was then cut off when another gunshot rang throughout the whole arena, turning his attention back to reality.

"What the heck?!" he exclaimed in surprise, caught off guard with the sudden gunshot, which was then followed by the massive cheers brought on by the audience. "Why the hell is everybody cheering loudly?!" he asked loudly, turning his attention back towards the arena.

His eyes widened and his jaw slowly fell in shock.

Esdeath was sitting on top of the body of An'ukatheon, who was on the ground and lying on his stomach, defeated. The man wasn't dead and he was just unconscious as Esdeath crossed her legs and smirked. The sadistic glint on her eyes told the whole story as she pressed two fingers on a wound near his neck, causing An'ukatheon to scream out in pain.

"What a shame… I liked playing with you." the girl said, kicking the man's ass on his sides, further making An'ukatheon wriggle and yell in pain.

"And our winner in less than 20 seconds… Esdeath of the Partas clan!" the announcer exclaimed in an enthusiastic ton as the crowd applauded for the bluenette down below.

" _Less than… 20 seconds?"_ was all that Tatsumi could think of right now.

"With that, An'ukatheon is officially out of this tournament and Esdeath moves to the quarterfinals! Man, what a short but hot start to this fuckin' tournament! And this is just beginning, folks! Now, let's head on to the next battle, shall we?"

Tatsumi could do nothing but stare at the blue-haired girl that was walking out of the arena with a smirk on her face, feeling that he should be careful around her. No, he wasn't scared of her. He was just being wary, because Tatsumi had a feeling that they would be meeting very _soon_.

" _This is gonna be a pain in the butt…"_ he thought to himself, preparing himself to observe the next fight.

* * *

Esdeath watched in satisfaction as she watched her latest victim be carried out of the arena; she had just fought in her semifinal round, and if she had to admit, this one showed potential in having a chance against her, but he ultimately fell to her when she continuously assaulted his legs and used it to her advantage to deliver severe physical punishment to him.

"He was too weak for my tastes anyway…" Esdeath commented, crossing her arms as she flexed her neck before faced the announcer. "And I am still about half-full of my energy… I may be strong, but I do have my own limits… just let the last one come to me, I'll get this over with in a blink of an eye."

The announcer nodded and fired a gunshot into the air, getting the audience's attention. "Well, folks! There you have it! Esdeath has defeated all of her previous enemies and she advances to the finals!" He paused for a moment to let them cheer for the bluenette. "And now, let's not waste any time! Let's call out the other finalist into the arena!"

Esdeath would never admit it, but she was closely watching the hooded boy ever since his elimination match earlier; the same hooded boy that she encountered briefly last night at the hotel where she and her father have stayed, and she was honestly impressed and surprised with how he managed to win every fight he's in, even though he was a mere boy.

And now, she couldn't help but feel a bit excited and intrigued to finally face him, so she could see and find out for herself if he was really strong or the opponents he's had were just weaker than him as a whole. He had used nothing but punches, kicks, and other strikes when he fought his three earlier opponents, and yet it was only him who came out on top every single time.

" _Time to find out for myself if this mere boy is really worth something… I'd be impressed if he even last ten minutes, though…"_ she thought, watching her opponent walk out into the arena with a smirk.

"On the western corner, give it up for our other finalist, Razior of the Eastern region!" the announcer exclaimed as the hooded boy who shocked the entire audience by winning his matches one-by-one just like what Esdeath did before advancing towards the middle of the arena.

Razior (Tatsumi) kept his arms to the side as he took his time getting to where Esdeath was, not wanting his nervousness suddenly get the better of him and cause him to end up losing this fight.

When he finally reached the middle of the arena, he stopped just a few meters away from Esdeath and locked gazes with the bluenette. Since his face was covered with his own cloak, it managed to hide the slight look of unsureness in his eyes, hinting his self-doubt that he could defeat someone like Esdeath. He was lucky enough to be given smug and overconfident mercenaries and former soldiers as opponents earlier, but now this wasn't anything like that.

Although his training was clean and flawless for the past four years were grueling and took him to the absolute limit, he knew that he needed to win this for the village.

Esdeath eyed her opponent up and down, her smirk as wide as ever as she finally faced him, the boy she was hoping to face off against in this damn tournament. "So we meet again…" she said, narrowing her eyes. "I never would have thought that a mere boy would have the strength to even sign up for a tournament like this…"

Razior knew that this would probably be crazy of him, but he knew that he had to speak right now. "I never would have thought a little girl would sign up for something like this as well…" he retorted in a low tone, apparently speaking for the first time.

"So you _can_ talk… I was wondering how long you were going to keep that mouth of yours shut…" she smirked, crossing her arms under her shut. "Now, why don't you take off that mask as well? Why not let the people in this place see the man behind that mask? Even if you're just a simple boy, show these people how strong you are inside…"

"I don't see how it is important for such an accessory to be involved in this, when we are supposed to be fighting each other, little girl." Razior said, doing his best to keep the tone of his voice as low as he could to avoid suspicion.

The bluenette snickered before she shrugged her shoulders and released a light sigh. "Suit yourself. I'll be getting that mask off your face, either way."

The announcer then decided to start the match, since both competitors were both willing to fight now and thus, he began to speak again. "Folks, we'll be starting the final match! Are both competitors ready?"

Esdeath and Razior nodded.

"Winner takes all in this fuckin' round! FIGHT!"

* * *

Both fighters took their respective stances; Razior took a deep breath as he solely turned his focus on his enemy in front of him. Esdeath did the same, examining the hooded boy and looking for a possible way to end this quickly, wanting to see if he was really strong or not. Her technique throughout the whole tournament was that she would wait for her enemy to make a move, before she would strike and quickly subdue him, and she knew that somehow Razior had already found out about this strategy of hers, causing Esdeath to have a little change of plans.

The blue-haired girl walked forward, keeping her glare on Razior as she continued to examine him. Her action caused some of the audience and even Razior himself to be a bit surprised, as she always used the element of surprise in her earlier battles.

Continuing her new strategy, Esdeath began to test how fast he was attempting feint attacks to surprise him, and indeed he was fast for dodging every single one of her strikes. For her to win this fight, all she needed to do was to find her opponent's most vulnerable area and capitalize on it, which will surely guarantee his victory. But the thing was, Razior didn't even look like he had a weak spot, despite participating in three fights before the finals.

" _I'll have to make the first move… I don't have any idea on what's the weak spot in this guy…"_ she thought to herself, silently cursing the cloak he was wearing, which hid his body from her and also made her unable to see if he had any injuries she could personally assault. Shaking her head slightly, she continued on feinting her attacks to distract Razior from her real plan.

Razior had no idea why was Esdeath attacking this way, since he was watching the way how she was fighting earlier and it always seemed that she waits for her opponent to make the first move instead of her. Despite this, he did nothing but simply focus on her every movement, because if he learned anything from her battles, she could end the match at any moment if she wanted to.

As quick as a speeding assassin, Esdeath delivered a huge chop towards Razior's neck, aiming to weaken it so that it would be easier for her to knock him out. After all, the neck is one of the most vulnerable parts of the human body. However, much to her surprise, her attack only caused Razior to snap his head to the side due to the force and he didn't even look like he felt pain.

Razior slowly turned his head back towards her and snickered before he lunged forward and grabbed her by the shoulder, before delivering a massive elbow to her face in retaliation.

Like what happened to the hooded boy, her head got snapped to the side due the force of the blow, but Esdeath felt like her face just hit a stone wall. Out of sheer surprise, her hand went up to her cheek as she felt her skin, checking to see if she had any bruises. The bluenette may be extremely dangerous in a fight, but she was not invulnerable. Feeling none, the girl turned back towards Razior, who had not moved from his last position at all.

"Interesting… you might prove to be worthy competition…" she smirked. "Tell me, how did you make your attack stronger than a normal one? I felt like I had just banged my head against a wall."

Razior didn't answer at all, as he lunged forward again, charging towards Esdeath. However, the girl was totally ready for this as she dodged the series of attacks that Razior tried to hit on her.

The audience started applauding once again when the competitors moved like a panther and a cheetah down in the middle of the battlefield, with Esdeath showing off her natural speed in dodging and Razior doing his best to keep her occupied and distracted. It was highly impressive for two kids to fight like this.

" _How boring…"_ Esdeath thought to herself as she finally caught Razior's fist in her paln, before she smirked and delivered a punch of her own towards her enemy's stomach. Razior staggered back in slight pain, but he managed to bounce back by grabbing her by the shoulder again, but Esdeath had that well-scouted by throwing him over her shoulder in a basic takedown.

As Razior hit the ground, he immediately noticed the bluenette about to grab the cloak that hid his face but he managed to stop her in time, grabbing her arm and quickly locked her in an arm hold. Various gasps could be heard from the audience as Esdeath was brought down on the ground for likely the first time ever since the tournament had began. Raizor tightened the hold on the girl's arm, and Esdeath narrowed her eyes as she fought his grip so she could free herself.

" _I guess this boy has some tricks up his sleeve…"_ she thought to herself as she managed to feel his sides, before she started pummeling it over and over with her free arm, causing Razior to wince in pain before finally letting go of her arm.

The two quickly got back up on their feet and they could feel the damage that they dealt to each other. Esdeath punched the air with her right arm a few times to make sure that she didn't sustain any injuries or even a fracture. Razior quickly tapped the right side of his ribs before taking a deep breath, he knew that he had to protect this particular part of his body from now on, as he feared that Esdeath would now target it.

And he was right.

Flashing her sadistic smirk, Esdeath quickly moved in for the kill and get to her favorite part of a battle, but Razior also had quick reaction. With perfect timing, he managed to bring up his right leg to meet her body with a shoot kick, sending her down to the ground again and catching her off guard.

This didn't stop Esdeath of course, as she quickly got back up to her feet only to get a boot in the face, keeping her down on the ground. Gritting her teeth in frustration, she got back up on her feet again, but Razior was once again there to kick her right in the face. Knowing what she should do now, she quickly sweeped his legs from under him to knock him down, and Esdeath took this opportunity to get back up without getting struck again.

As soon as she was back to her feet though Razior had already gotten back up as well, cutting off any chances of her to make a possible counterattack. Apparently, this Razior kid was lasting longer than she thought, even though he was just a weird-looking child.

" _This is going to take longer than I expected…"_ she thought to herself as she dodged another kick from Razior, before going on the offensive herself, charging towards the hooded boy. " _He intrigues me… who is this fellow for real?"_ She threw another punch towards him, but he caught it with his palm and pulled her towards him before delivering a brutal knee towards Esdeath's stomach, and the girl could barely hold in her shout of pain as she fell to the ground once again.

The audience couldn't believe what they were seeing. Was Esdeath, the almost-unbeatable competitor of the whole event being beat down by a mere boy?

Razior crouched down to grab the bluenette by her shoulders and his eyes widened when Esdeath suddenly grabbed his arm for a brief moment, using his figure to support herself back up to her feet before she delivered a brutal kick to the right side of Razior's body, and the boy hissed in pain, while the girl kept her hold on his arm. Her sadistic personality took over at the chance of finally being able to inflict torture on her enemy as she began relentlessly kicking the boy's sides, and it eventually caused Razior to fall to his knees out of immense pain in his ribcage, screaming slightly in pain.

Razior could only silently thank the training he underwent for the past years, as it helped him train his resiliency to be at the peak of a human's, allowing him to withstand punishment like this. Breathing heavily, he looked up at Esdeath who had a confident look on her face. " _I knew this wasn't going to be easy…"_ he thought to himself as Esdeath began kicking his head over and over while still keeping a tight grip on his arm.

As if she was trying to kick his head off his body, Esdeath made her kicks stronger than before, not caring if she would kill the boy right there. "You're strong… and because of that, you earned my respect, boy. You're the first one to actually show potential to defeat me." she stated, chuckling slightly as his cloak began to get torn off his face.

However, in the midst of her kicks, Razior had gotten back up on one knee, before he started absorbing every attack that Esdeath threw at him. With every kick that she delivered, it was like he was using it as energy so he could get back up on his feet, and he did. The smirk on the bluenette's face disappeared and was replaced by a look of shock, wondering how did Razior survive all the punishment she inflicted to his head and ribcage.

The moment he noticed that Esdeath stopped attacking out of shock, Razior took advantage and slapped her across the chest hard, sending her stumbling back a few steps and pulling him along with her. Esdeath hissed in pain, feeling as if she was just whipped before she felt his hand slap her across the chest again.

This finally caused Esdeath to let go of his arm, and Tatsumi took advantage of it by holding Esdeath by her shoulder and unleashed his fury on her in the form of elbow strikes, and he didn't even give her any chance to possibly dodge his attacks by going at his full speed, making his arm look like a submachine gun firing a full round of bullets.

His whole onslaught lasted for half a minute until he finally let go of her shoulder, letting the girl fall to the ground as he took a few deep breaths to recompose himself, his hands resting on his knees. " _Shit… that… took a lot out of —!"_ he thought to himself before he got hit in the side by something that felt like a whip, sending him flying back several meters before he screamed out in pain on the ground, unable to hold in the pain anymore.

"Finally… you gave in to the punishment I gave you…" Razior turned his head to the side to see Esdeath immediately back up on her feet, yet she was very different than before. The beautiful and innocent-looking bluenette earlier was totally gone and the whole audience couldn't help but keep quiet and watch in interest, as this final round was one for the ages.

Esdeath was panting; her clothes were slightly torn and her Jackaleo scarf was in her hand, being used like a whip. There were gushes and a few bruises on her face due to the beating she received from Razior just a whole earlier and the girl suddenly began to approach the hooded boy. "You're strong… and I respect strong opponents…" she spoke, grinning widely. "This is the first time that I have actually been pushed to my limit, Razior… and for that, I shall make sure that you'll be remembered by each one of the audience here in this arena…" she continued, calling Tatsumi by his alias for the first time.

The girl stopped just a few meters away from Razior, who was just beginning to get back up on his feet. "You still want to continue?" she asked him, and like all the questions she had already asked earlier, he didn't answer at all. "Fine, I'll say it then! You're the greatest enemy I've had to face so far, boy! You really proved yourself to have lasted this long against me…" she laughed before advancing towards him and hit him with her scarf yet again, directly towards his sides.

Razior screamed again in pain for a few seconds before he kept his mouth shut, trying to resist the pain he felt like he did with her earlier attacks. Esdeath only snickered and hit him again, only for Razior to grit his teeth and resist the damage that it dealt to his body. "How long will you keep resisting the pain, Razior?" she asked, now using her leg to kick him in the side to make her sadistic self feel satisfied. However, the boy bit his bottom lip as hard as he could to prevent himself from screaming again.

"Come on, let me hear you shout out in pain! I loved hearing your voice earlier!" she said, beginning to kick him again repeatedly to try and get what she wanted, but like what happened when she kicked his head repeatedly, Razior seemed to be slowly absorbing her every kick until it reached to the point when he suddenly grabbed her leg before she could hit his right side again.

Looking up at her with possibly the fiercest glare he could ever give a person, he began to stand up on his feet, using her body as support. Esdeath growled in anger and whipped him again with her scarf, wanting this to get over with. Although she liked inflicting pain and punishment to others, she knew that she needed this to end soon because her real goal was to win this tournament in the first place. And she knew to herself that she wouldn't be able to last long at this point, because like what she said, Razior managed to push her to her limit and got her to fight with the will to win burning bright inside her.

"WHY! WON'T! YOU! JUST! ADMIT! THAT! YOU! LOST!" she roared out, punctuating every word she spoke with one whip towards his vulnerable side, completely losing her calm attitude as she gave in to frustration. "YOU CAN'T WIN ANYMORE!"

"I… WILL… WIN!" he roared back, speaking for the first time ever since the start of their fight as he slapped Esdeath across her chest once again and the girl had to back away from him to nurse herself for a bit. The feeling of his hand swatting her felt horrible as her chest could be seen burning red underneath her robe. Hissing in pain, she resisted the pain she was feeling to turn back her attention towards Razior, who propped his elbow back and delivered a massive elbow towards Esdeath's jaw, knocking her back towards the ground.

The audience couldn't believe their eyes as they continued to watch the ongoing battle between two magnificent fighters, who were both going all-out against one another, with one coming out on top and they didn't even care who was going to win this.

Esdeath slowly lifted herself from the ground, looking down at her own blood that was dripping from her mouth. Flashing a disgusted look, she spat out a tooth along with some blood as she looked up and saw her father at the audience.

The man had a look of concern on his face as he looked at his beaten daughter. He had slight hope that there was someone in this tournament who could prove to be competition against Esdeath, but he had never thought that that "someone" would be able to put her in the state she was in right now. He may be a strict village chief as well as a sadist like his daughter, but his love for Esdeath was so strong that he was almost tempted to jump down and stop the fight before it could be too late.

Seeing her father's look, Esdeath closed her eyes. " _I will not fail you, father."_ she told herself before snapping her eyes back open and suddenly got up from the ground in less than a few seconds for one final charge against Razior.

Razior however, was prepared for it and ducked under her incoming punch and quickly went behind her, locking Esdeath in a choke hold. The girl's eyes widened in shock as she slowly felt the life beginning to fade out of her. She knew that she had to escape from this quick before she could be knocked out, causing her to reach out to the back of Razior's head and tried to throw him over her shoulder to break his hold.

Unfortunately for her, she only managed to rip off his cloak, her mouth falling open in horror at the purple fabric she held in her hand.

There was no escape now.

Even with his real face now revealed, Tatsumi let out a defiant roar as he increased the pressure in his hold, pulling the bluenette back with him that it looked like he was trying to kill her. When he felt that Esdeath was finally losing consciousness, he slowly crouched down and let the girl sit down on the ground as he released his hold and ran towards a great distance in front of her.

When he was finally about 15 meters away from the bluenette, Tatsumi turned back and ran at his full speed back towards Esdeath, clutching his right side so that it won't bother him for now although he could still feel the aftereffects of Esdeath's assault on him.

With one last roar of defiance, Tatsumi delivered a devastating soccerball kick towards Esdeath's chest, causing the girl to slam back down on the ground with a loud thud, back-first with her arms and legs sprawled out. Tatsumi immediately stopped after his last attack and fell down to one knee, screaming out in pain as he dealt with the possible injury his ribcage might have sustained.

The crowd was left silent and stunned at what just happened down in the battlefield, both shocked and caught off guard with the sudden turn of events. During the earlier battles, all of them were either one-sided or even too boring to possibly enjoy. But this fight changed all that less than half an hour.

The announcer went to the middle of the arena and quickly checked on both competitors, as he needed to declare a winner between the two.

"Since Razior is still moving while Esdeath is nearly unconscious, the winner is decided! The winner of this match and this tournament!" he gestured towards Tatsumi before firing several gunshots into the air.

"Razior of the Western region!" he announced with a big smile on his face, feeling amazed and satisfied with the battle that just transpired between two supposedly weak-looking teenagers.

* * *

The crowd burst into nothing but loud cheers as Esdeath's father quickly headed down into the arena to check on his daughter. Esdeath herself was lying on her back, still conscious but barely because of what she had to suffer in her fight. She had never expected to face an opponent like Razior, with his unique but powerful style that managed to outlast her and ultimately defeat her.

Meanwhile, two men whom the announcer had called for approached Tatsumi and slowly helped him back up on his feet, before handing him an ice pack for his ribs. After muttering a quick thanks, Tatsumi went towards the announcer so he could ask for the rewards. Since he had won, he earned the six sacks of gold as a prize. He could care less about basking in his victory because what mattered to him more was the village.

"Esdeath," the man breathed out, reaching the middle of the arena before he noticed the two men who assisted Tatsumi earlier were about to turn their attention towards his daughter, but he shook his head furiously, denying their help. The two looked surprised for a moment, before they decided to leave the man alone with his kid. "Daughter… are you okay?" he asked.

The blue-haired woman turned her head to the side, only to see her father looking down upon her, causing her to bear a sad look on her face. He probably hated her now; the man taught her that only the strong survive in this world, and all the weak must die. Since she lost this fight, it only meant that she was weak and she deserved to die. Before she knew it, tears had begun to build up in her eyes as she tried her best not to cry.

"Daughter? Are those tears I see?" he asked, looking concerned for the girl when he noticed the bruises she sustained on her face, as well as how her chest was of the color red and some small areas of her skin got opened by tiny scratches and wounds.

"Father… I'm weak, aren't I?" she asked, choking back a sob as the man looked at her with a confused expression. "I failed you… I failed the village… I didn't win… I don't… I don't deserve to live in this world! I'm… I'm weak!" she angrily said through her tears before she felt her father hug her close to his chest in comfort.

"There, there… it'll be alright, daughter. Let's just get you out of here and we'll talk about this later on." he said, releasing her from his embrace and supported the girl as she stood back up on her feet.

"Father… you're not… you're not angry with me? I failed you! You wanted me to win for the village… but I lost! I'm nothing but w —" she questioned, clenching the piece of purple fabric in her hand, only for her father to press his fingers against her lips, silencing her.

"I am not angry with you, daughter. Now let's get out of here and get you treated of your wounds… I can't bear the look of you being like this." he told her, and just as they were about to leave the arena, they saw Razior leaving the place as he walked just ahead with the six sacks of gold that he won as a reward, dragging them all across the ground. The hood that covered his head was now gone, and Esdeath noticed that he had brown hair underneath it.

"H-Hey!" she called out, and Razior stopped in his tracks upon hearing Esdeath's voice. "I need to ask you something!"

"You still want to fight?" Razior groaned in a low voice, massaging his ribcage slightly and causing him to grit his teeth to resist the pain that came with it. "I don't have any more time to waste here, Little Miss Perfect… the tournament is done, and deal with it." He shot her down and he was about to continue walking when she shouted again.

"How are you this strong?! How can you still be even walking without help?! Are you even human, boy?! You're not even… you don't even seem affected with what… with everything I inflicted on you earlier…" she said in a confused tone, desperate to find the answer.

Like other teens, even Esdeath herself can be curious sometimes and this situation truly baffled her. She had thought that Razior was nothing more but a simple boy who simply had the impossible dream of being able to win a tournament like this, but he surely proved her wrong in their fight and if she had to be honest, it was scaring her a bit. If he was supposed to be a kid, then how could he fight like a real warrior in battle? How could he withstand all the punishment she delivered onto him earlier?

"For your information, if you hit me one more time right now, I could be lights-out… and I'm just a human, stupid! Who do you think I am, an alien?!" he exclaimed, a tick mark on his forehead.

"Then… how are you this strong? I don't get it… how can you be stronger than me? You're just a kid!" she shouted, a scowl appearing on her face.

"Some things are faster than they seem, Little Miss Perfect… or in simple words, don't underestimate the smallest of opponents." he stated, only to narrow his eyes when he saw that Esdeath was still scowling at him. "Look, if you're so angry about losing this, find me anytime you want a rematch… I'll take you on anywhere, anytime… just make sure that you're stronger than this… I don't like being granted the same results after another attempt."

Esdeath didn't try to answer that one.

"Well, so long, Little Miss Perfect!" he exclaimed one more time, turning around briefly to grin at her before he finally left the area.

In truth, she wasn't really angry about losing.

Esdeath only wanted to know exactly how he won against her, which obviously wasn't answered since he gave her some words of "wisdom" instead.

On the other hand, she didn't really mind the thought of having a rematch.

All she had to do was find him, eh?

 **End of Flashback**

* * *

 **(Esdeath's Room)**

Tatsumi willingly removed himself from on top of Esdeath and sat just beside her, letting her come to terms with the revelation she had just witnessed. " _Heh, I got her now… she looks so shocked…"_ he thought to himself.

The blue-haired woman couldn't help but be shocked with what she just found out; her eyes were already wide as hell, and her mouth had hung open. Esdeath turned her head to look at Tatsumi with a shocked look on her face, who only smirked in return, thinking that she had fallen into his trap.

Esdeath couldn't be any more surprised than she was right now. First, the "boy" whom she had been searching for 8 years was actually Tatsumi? How could she have let this slip by? Both of them had brown hair and the way they fight was nearly parallel, which was why she was experiencing some flashbacks when she was watching him fight Kalbi and Baron earlier in the tournament that she created, and it was also the reason why his grin was so damn familiar in the first place.

She slowly sat up in her bed, pointing towards Tatsumi with a shocked expression on her face. "Y-You… it was you… you were the boy that I fought years ago, Tatsumi? You're… Razior?" she asked, her eyes wide for what seemed like the first time against others.

"I'm hurt a bit that you didn't notice me at all, _Little Miss Perfect_ … but I'm glad that you did remember what my name was and how I looked like…" he said, taking satisfaction in her state of shock as he treated it as the ultimate irony. "It feels good to remember everything now, doesn't it?"

"I've searched for you… for 8 years, I've looked for you… I tried to find you, but I couldn't locate you anywhere…" she muttered, looking down at the bedsheets with a conflicted expression.

"Why were you looking for me?" he asked suspiciously, quirking an eyebrow in curiosity. Now this was something that he never knew, but he was interested in finding out more about that matter.

She clenched her fist and looked up at him with a dark look. "I wanted… I wanted to fight you again… I wanted to see… if you were still the same kid I've known since then… the hooded boy who bested me in combat or if you have grown weak like all others… I wanted… to redeem myself and prove that I am not weak. Those who have fought against me throughout these years either wounded up dead or became my own playthings."

" _Wanted to fight me?"_ he thought to himself, before a sudden idea struck his idea. " _Wait a minute, that's the perfect opportunity for me to get out of here! If she wants to fight me as an opponent, she'll have to get ready for it and I have to be ready! This could be my only chance in possible escaping from this damn place! I have the information I need, anyway!"_

"You want to fight me?" he repeated in amusement before he smirked confidently. He's no expert in manipulating other people's desires, but this was most likely, his only shot at being able to escape without having to reveal his real identity. "Well, what are we waiting for? You don't like being kept waiting, do you? Come on, let's do this right now, Esdeath… it will benefit you greatly, right? Why don't you prove yourself that you can really beat me?"

While Esdeath was too deep in her own thoughts, Tatsumi also thoughts of his own. He didn't really want to fight her, as even he knew just how strong she was from the rumors he had heard about her alone. He was also the one who told Leone never to engage Esdeath in one-on-one combat, and he wasn't about to break his own word. However, he did hope that her ego and if by some miracle, her whole personality would be affected so they could have the competition take place here in the capital.

It didn't more than a minute for Esdeath to answer, and Tatsumi was already quite confused why she was continuing to smile innocently with a blush on her face as if nothing happened between them. This was the same face she made when Tatsumi won her tournament, with her loving personality somehow mixing up with his situation due to the cute blush on her face.

She shook her head. "No."

His eyes widened and his jaw immediately fell wide open.

Did he have hearing problems or something?

"W-W-WH-WHA-WHAT?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN, NO?!" he exclaimed out of shock as he shook his head, which only caused Esdeath to giggle slightly in amusement simply because his reaction was damn funny.

But wait…

Did Esdeath really want to fight him or not?

* * *

 _ **Finally! I'm done with this chapter! Thank you for being patient, guys!**_

 _ **Time for some explanations…**_

 _ **Tatsumi is 10 years old in the flashback, while Esdeath is 14. This means that Tatsumi is 18 in the present and Esdeath is 22, also showing that the time gap was 8 years from their first official meeting.**_

 _ **Tatsumi having abusive parents who treat him like a maid, the future and safety of his village that needs desperate help to get back up to stand on its feet, and having to train in a very intense camp for four years is surely enough drive for him to become stronger. I can't just take the possible dislikes and hate towards him being near-OP at age 10.**_

 _ **Tatsumi's fighting style is already explained last chapter. But to those who have no real idea on what Strong Style is, send me a PM, I'll show you a video that will help you understand how Tatsumi fights a lot better than simple imagination in this story. You'll see how Esdeath got beaten by this particular fighting style.**_

 _ **Esdeath's personality slowly changing in the end shows that she's human, gets curious about things that intrigue her. She's just a teenager, and being curious and asking questions afterwards is actually good for a person's mental state.**_

 _ **Esdeath crying in the end again shows the catches of being a teenager; in my own personal opinion, teens tend to get more emotional breakdowns tham children or even adults, because adolescence is usually the period or type when a person starts to make life-changing decisions, which may or may not affect the rest of his life.**_

 _ **Esdeath saying no Tatsumi's proposal of a fight… you'll find out next chapter XD**_

 _ **Harem (Final): Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **If you want to catch up with me and your other favorite writers, join our Discord server:**_

[discord . gg / uDxVym8]

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	20. Kill the Love

"Normal Talking"

" _Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters…**_

* * *

"I don't wish to fight you, Tatsumi…" Esdeath said, winking at him cutely. "Well, not yet, at least."

"Not yet?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow as he flashed a confused look. He had thought that Esdeath would jump at the chance to fight him again due yo her love for fighting but her answer wasn't something that she was expecting to say. "I don't understand, why not right now?"

"I am not interested in fighting you right now, Tatsumi. I appreciate your offer and thank you for it, but I will have to sadly decline it for now."

"What the fuck? I thought you wanted to fight me?!" he said, his eyes wide open as he looked totally bewildered with her own words. "Are you somehow twisting your own words against me?"

"I remember my own words, Tatsumi…" Esdeath chuckled, pushing him down to the bed before she straddled his hips again. "I do wish to fight you, but there is a right time and place for that to take place, and that is not going to be happening in my own bedroom."

"Right time and place?! Who cares about that? If you want a rematch, I'll give it to you right now. And who said that we had to fight in this damn bedroom, anyway?! Let's go down to the arena where I fought in earlier and get this over with, then!" he said, trying his best to stay calm, which was failing horribly.

Esdeath pushed him back down on the bed and shook her head. "As much as you make good enough points for me, I don't want to fight you right now… even if I did search for you for many years with the intention of fighting you again, I don't want to have to say goodbye to you this early… I might just be the one to end your life if we did fight."

"What the heck are you talking about? I thought you didn't like me? You hate me, right? Did you forget what happened between us years ago?" he asked, his confusion growing bigger and bigger with every second passing.

"My memory is as good as any old librarian out there, Tatsumi… regardless of our past together, that doesn't change what I feel for you. Besides, we were competitors in a tournament 8 years ago, we were bound to face each other because we wanted the prize. Why would I even think of hating you for that reason? You are going to be my lover and be mine forever, Tatsumi… hmm, perhaps this is what fate decided to happen to us? What if we were destined to be enemies at first?" she suggested, a dreamy look appearing on her face and causing Tatsumi to flash a look of horror before he flipped her around again, scowling down at her.

"What do _you_ know about _love_? Nothing!" he spat out, crawling towards the edge of the bed and sat there comfortably. This was actually smart of him, because if he continued on arguing with her, it could lead him to lose control and attack her out of nowhere, and the last thing he needed right now was an accidental fight and possibly getting chained again. "You're just being blinded by lust if you think you're in love with me… you can't possibly be in love with me just because you say so. Love doesn't work like that…"

"Oh Tatsumi…" Esdeath said, hugging Tatsumi close by wrapping her arms around his neck. Surprisingly, he didn't push her away or even shrugged her off. "You don't have to worry about that… who cares how love works? I _know_ my feelings are genuine… I _know_ that I want you to be my lover."

"I still doubt it…" he said, rolling his eyes.

"Tatsumi, you can just stay here with me forever. You speak as if you have never been loved before… you may have lived a boring life from whatever village you came from… but from now on, you'll live in comfort and under my arms. I don't have a lover, but you're the only person I regard as a man. You won't ever feel lonely when you're around me."

"That's another thing…" Tatsumi said, smirking at her. "I already have a girlfriend."

"Oh?" Esdeath said as she flashed a sadistic smile on her face. "I will enjoy the competition for you, then. But know this, Tatsumi… I will win and you will be mine in the end."

"Don't think it'll be that easy for you…" Tatsumi muttered underneath his breath. "Plus, it's not right that it'll be only me who should get to be happy after all this."

"What? Do you have a family?" Esdeath asked, placing a comforting hand on Tatsumi's knee. "I can make arrangements for them to be heavily guarded throughout this ongoing war, it will be quite easy so they won't be in danger."

"No, it's not that…" Tatsumi said, shaking his head. "What I want is a country… where everybody can live happily and without any bloodshed. That's why this corrupted empire needs to go. You believe in survival of the fittest and that the weak need to be eliminated, but there's no way I can't accept that. The minister is the one who's weak by hiding in the shadow of the emperor. He's the one who has to go and nobody has to get killed, no matter how weak or powerful they are." He then smirked defiantly at her. "If I recall, even your own father didn't want you to go even after you called yourself weak and wanted to die for failing him. I heard you say those words." Tatsumi stated, stood onto his feet and looked at Esdeath with eyes full of determination and passion.

Without warning, he was met by a harsh slap to the face as got off the bed and pointed at Tatsumi. "Never mention my father again, Tatsumi. I was but a confused child back then, but I am a capable woman now. And you wouldn't know what I had to go through back then, anyway. I am not going to be influenced by you! _You're_ going to be influenced by me!"

"Well, you're welcome to try, but you won't change me… even if you torture me." Tatsumi said, nursing his red cheek before crossing his arms defiantly over his chest. "I'm a tough bastard, Esdeath… I don't give up very easily when I still have time to _fly away_."

"Heh, my you're quite stubborn." Esdeath said with a small smile, chuckling softly. "But I guess that's why…" Esdeath's smile softened as she closed her eyes. _"Your smile is somehow intoxicating…"_ Esdeath looked down and smiled dreamily. _"I want to see that innocent smile of his again… I'll do whatever it takes to have him smile all the time!"_ Tatsumi was surprised when Esdeath suddenly sat back down on the edge of the bed behind him. "Well, you must be tired from all the excitement today. Let's continue this discussion tomorrow. For now, let's get some sleep."

"U-Uh, alright… I guess I'll… sleep on the couch over there…" Tatsumi said with a shrug, his eyes darting towards the couch on the other side of the room. However, before he could leave the bed, he was stopped when Esdeath grabbed his wrist.

"I promise I won't try anything that unvolves you tonight. Like I said, I do not wish to fight you nor push you away, so please just sleep in the bed with!" Esdeath pleaded, locking eyes with Tatsumi. "Please… I don't… I don't want to sleep alone."

"Fine, I'll sleep in the bed…" Tatsumi said nonchalantly, which caused Esdeath's eyes to light up before he headed for the bathroom door. "But at least, let me take a bath real quick. I don't want to stink like garbage while I sleep."

"That's fine with me, but if you cause any type of commotion in the palace or even try to run away…" Esdeath said, stopping Tatsumi in his tracks all of a sudden. "It'll only end in your death. General Budo's guards are everywhere, even if you do manage to escape under my nose. So forget any funny ideas you might have, Tatsumi."

"Heh… don't worry, I wasn't planning anything." Tatsumi said, opening the door to the bathroom. _"Everyone back at the hideout said that the inside of the palace was really dangerous… I guess there is really no way for me to escape while I'm here… especially with_ _ **Starfall**_ _back at base. And I have no clue if Esdeath has gone crazy or is just blinded by a petty crush… she's supposed to fight me to get redemption like what she said, and yet she still persists that she loves me… forget it, I'll be dealing with this tomorrow…"_ Releasing a light sigh, Tatsumi walked into the bathroom.

"Hmm…" Esdeath hummed, tapping her chin. "I probably should have joined him… if I did, I would've seen what was underneath that black shirt he was wearing earlier… well, that will come in the right time. There's no need to hurry. After all, the both of us need to move on from our history together." Taking a calming breath, Esdeath fell back against the bed, remembering what Bols had told her earlier in the evening regarding Tatsumi.

 _"The way to win Tatsumi's heart… is by not giving up. I was rejected twice by my wife… but I never gave up and I made my move when I saw my chance… and I won her heart in the end. Just remember that it will take some time."_

 _"Bols said the same thing as well."_ Esdeath thought with a smile as she began to relax. _"First thing tomorrow… I'll have Tatsumi join me on a danger beast hunt… then I'll show him what I can really do. If he has gotten stronger than when we first met, then so have I. Two extremely powerful individuals… initially foes but got bounded together by fate."_ A light blush appeared on Esdeath's face as she stared at the door to her bathroom.

 _"I'm going to make you fall for me, Tatsumi… you are the only man in my entire life to have beaten me in combat, and that alone proves that you are the perfect man for me… the strongest woman is only fitting for the strongest man… I wouldn't have it any other way."_

 **(The Next Morning: Esdeath's Bedroom)**

"Urgh…" Tatsumi groaned as light began to fill in through the nearby windows. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Tatsumi slowly sat up on the edge of the large bed. As his sleepiness began to fade away, he looked to the side to realize that Esdeath wasn't in the bed with him anymore. Apparently, this was the first in many times that he woke up like a normal person instead of shooting out of bed like a robot.

Perhaps the bed was _too_ comfortable? Or was it because of something else?

The way the blue-haired woman had been clinging on to him last night, Tatsumi was quite surprised that she managed to get out of bed without even waking him up. In reality, he was quite used to Akame treating him like a teddy bear at night and Leone being all over him as well, so he wasn't too uncomfortable when Esdeath did it, but it did make him feel a bit awkward since he was still trying to get to know her better, apart from the fact that they met each other before.

Hopping off the bed, Tatsumi noticed that the door to the room's balcony was slightly open, letting the cool breeze flow inside the room. Tatsumi walked over to the door and poked his head through to look at what was happening outside. He quickly spotted Esdeath leaning against the balcony's railing, still dressed in the half-buttoned white shirt she had slept in, as she stared at the sunrise. Tatsumi couldn't help but marvel at how beautiful Esdeath looked, framed against the sun's early morning rays.

" _Damn, she's more beautiful now than when she was a kid like me…"_ he said to himself before letting out a sigh. " _I know that she's my enemy right now, but… I think I should get to know her better… I've seen a vulnerable side of her back then that would be impossible to see now… but it could still be there, buried deep inside her. And who knows? Maybe those feelings she has for me are really genuine…"_

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Tatsumi walked out onto the balcony next to Esdeath. The bluenette glanced at him as he leaned on the balcony beside her. "Beautiful morning, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. It really is." Esdeath said, a small smile spreading across her face, simply enjoying Tatsumi's company. Despite her smile though, the young man could detect a hint of sadness in Esdeath's voice. "I'm sure my Three Beasts would have enjoyed this view."

Tatsumi tensed upon her mentioning the Three Beasts, an image of both Sheele and Bulat appearing in his mind. Luckily for him, Esdeath was so focused on the horizon that she didn't even notice his reaction to her words. "It's a pity that they were killed… but that's what happens to those who are weak. Only the strong can survive in this world, and all the rest will be left behind to die."

"Right…" Tatsumi muttered as he tried to find a way to change the subject. He wanted to talk about something else before another argument could explode between them and spoil his chance of getting to know Esdeath under her cold and icy exterior. "So… what are you doing out here so early in the morning? You woke up earlier than I do everyday."

"Thinking." Esdeath replied, turning around to face Tatsumi. "I was thinking about what you had said to me last night… about how the minister is the one who is weak and hides in the emperor's shadow." Esdeath was quite amused when she saw his surprised expression of his face. "I agree with every word you said, but that doesn't make me change my mind. I'm a general for this empire and I have no intentions of turning against it."

"Suit yourself…" Tatsumi said, shrugging his shoulders before he smirked. "I won't be surprised if we meet at the opposite sides of the battlefield one day… I just wonder who'll come out on top this time."

"There is no need for things to go that way, Tatsumi." Esdeath said, cupping the brunette's chin and turning his head towards her so that he was looking at her in the eyes. Tatsumi felt a sudden chill run down his spine when he saw the sadistic glint in Esdeath's eyes. It was the same look that he remembered seeing when she brutally assaulted him during their battle 8 years ago that left him in the village's clinic for a whole week.

"While it's true that you bring up some valid points Tatsumi, the main reason I fight for the Empire is because…" Esdeath leaned in close and whispered hotly in Tatsumi's ear.

"The minister allows me to do as I please as long as I follow his orders. He allows me to kill, torture, and wage war to my heart's content. The minister doesn't care about how brutal my methods are, or how many bodies I leave behind, as long as I get the job done. You could join me at my side, Tatsumi… together, we'll be known as the strongest couple in history. We'll dominate every battlefield and every war we'll fight in, and the world will know of our love." Esdeath quickly leaned forward and kissed Tatsumi on the cheek before she walked back into the room. "You better head downstairs… I'm sure Bols is preparing breakfast for the Jaegers as we speak."

 _"I'll have to talk to the Boss when I get back."_ Tatsumi thought, as he tightly balled his fists. _"This is totally not how I pictured this would be… I thought she was on the empire's side for some other evil reason, but I didn't expect her answer to be like that."_ Tatsumi sighed and began to make his way downstairs.

 _"After what Esdeath just told me… it's almost impossible for me to just kill her without remorse in the end… not when I remember how she looked so helpless and vulnerable when her father held her in his arms."_

* * *

 **(Five Minutes Later: Jaegers' Dining Room)**

"Yo." Wave greeted with a smile when he saw Tatsumi walk into the dining room for breakfast. "Did you sleep well last night? I heard you were with the General in her room."

"Just fine, I guess…" Tatsumi said with a slight blush, remembering how Esdeath held him last night, which was exactly how Akame and Leone do the same every time they sleep with him. It was then that Tatsumi noticed that there was another person in the room aside from the two of them. Sitting at the table in front of him was a dark-haired girl who looked to be in her mid-teens. The girl was quietly munching on candy from a bag that she had in front of her.

Tatsumi remembered seeing the girl a few times ever since coming to the palace, but he never really had a good look at her. But now that Tatsumi's mind was free of other thoughts, he couldn't shake the feeling that she looked quite familiar. Tatsumi then spotted the name on her bag of sweets, and his eyes widened considerably in realization. _"K-Kurome?! T-This girl is Akame's little sister?! No freakin' way… she's one of the Jaegers too?! Damn it… I'll have to tell Akame when I get back to base. I can tell that this won't be good…"_

However, Tatsumi had made the mistake of staring at Kurome for far too long. The dark-haired girl suddenly eyed Tatsumi suspiciously. _"Shit, is she suspecting me now?"_ he thought, panicking internally.

Tatsumi's heart pounded madly in his chest out of nervousness as he watched Kurome's eyes slowly narrow. But to both his surprise _and_ relief, Kurome grabbed her bag of candy and hugged it close to her chest. "I'm not giving you any of my candy! I totally saw you eyeing it!"

 _"Oh, thank goodness…"_ Tatsumi thought, letting out a massive sigh of relief. _"She only thought I was staring at her candy… I'd be in trouble if she suspected me for real…"_

"Kurome, give it a rest will ya?" Wave said, closing his eyes before taking a sip of his coffee. "It's the first thing in the morning, and you're already eating candy. Don't you care about having real breakfast?"

"Mind your own business." Kurome said in a monotone voice, before popping another piece of candy in her mouth. "I'll do as I please."

"You should eat more seafood." Wave suggested, smiling at Kurome. "It's really good for you."

"If I did, I'd stink like you Wave." Kurome replied, causing the blue-haired man to panic.

" _Oof."_ Tatsumi thought to himself.

"What?! The hell?!" Wave said as he began to sniff his clothing to check if the girl's words were true. "I stink?!"

"Eh, you smell just fine, dude…" Tatsumi said, rubbing the back of his head. His words seemed to calm Wave's nerves and he smiled appreciatively at the brunette. Once again, Tatsumi glanced at Kurome, and she hugged her bundle of sweets close to her chest again.

"What?" Kurome asked as she slightly glared at Tatsumi. "You keep staring at me… it's kind of creeping me out."

"Oh! Uhh… sorry about that… I'm not trying to be rude or anything." Tatsumi said, chuckling awkwardly while rubbing the back of his head. "It's just that… you look a lot like that Akame girl that's on all the wanted posters around the capital…"

"You know what, I've thought of the same thing." Wave said, as he rubbed his chin before looking at Kurome. "You two do look awfully similar…"

"Yeah… that makes sense." Kurome said, a dark gaze filling her eyes as she munched on another one of her candies. "She's an extremely valuable asset, even though she turned her back on the empire… I really hope I get to see her again soon, though. I'll find her… and kill her with my own hands. After all… she's my precious older sister."

 _"Fuck… Akame wasn't kidding at all."_ Tatsumi thought, staring at Kurome while trying to hide his shock from her and Wave. _"They're really trying to kill each other…"_

Just then, the door to the dinning room burst open and Esdeath rushed into the room, fully dressed in her general uniform. "Tatsumi! We're going hunting for danger beasts today. We'll be heading to Famo."

 _"Hunting for danger beasts… wait a second… this is my chance to escape this place!"_ Tatsumi thought, a small smirk spreading across his face. _"We'll be leaving the capital, and I could slip away without being noticed at all… hmm, this might be my only chance to get back to Night Raid…"_ He then clenched his fist in determination. " _So I can't miss this opportunity!"_

"You're coming too, Kurome and Wave." Esdeath said as she adjusted her cap. "Famo is the perfect place for a surprise ambush. We'll search for bandits along the way while hunting danger beasts!"

"Roger!" Kurome and Wave said in unison.

"We'll separate into two teams until nightfall. As soon as we arrive, Kurome and I will head east. Wave and Tatsumi will go search the west side." Esdeath explained, turning to face Wave and Kurome afterwards. "I don't know what Kurome is truly capable of yet, so this will be a great opportunity for me to get a full idea of her skills."

"So you've already assessed my skills, then?" Wave asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You had a fantastic teacher." Esdeath complimented, tipping her cap to Wave. "You're already as strong as you can be. Be proud of yourself and continue on growing stronger without anybody's help."

 _"So I'll be with Wave, huh?"_ Tatsumi thought, as he glanced at Wave out of the corner of his eye. _"So far, he's a chiller dude than Esdeath or the other Jaegers… he probably won't keep too close of an eye on me, but I must keep vigilant. However, he'll be a lot easier to lose than Esdeath, that's for sure."_

"At night, we'll switch teams. Tatsumi and I will hunt together while Kurome and Wave will be partnered up." Esdeath said, a slight blush dusting across her face. _"The danger beasts that come out at night are far more dangerous. This will be my chance to really show him my strength after all these years!"_

"Oh, you're leaving already?" Bols asked as he walked into the dining room, carrying a tray of tea. "I was just about to finish making breakfast."

"Thanks Bols, but we'll have to pass on that." Esdeath said as she walk out of the room. "We'll get something to eat on the way to Famo." Esdeath walked passed Bols and stopped in the doorway. "Alright everyone, get prepared! I want all of you ready to leave in ten minutes!"

"Well, I better go get changed…" Tatsumi muttered as he made his way back towards Esdeath's bedroom. However, as soon as Tatsumi exited the dining room, he then bumped into Ren, who looked like he had just did some serious training due to his sweating body. The red-haired man, who was wearing a white undershirt and black pants, was quite surprised to see their new backup member early in the morning.

"Yo, Tatsumi…" Seryu said, outstretching his hand for a handshake, which the brunette accepted without hesitation. "You're up early, what are you up to?"

"I know… but I don't have a choice in this…" Tatsumi replied, rubbing the back of his head. "Esdeath wants me to go with her, Wave, and Kurome on a hunting trip. What about you? You look like a mess."

"Oh, I see…" Ren muttered as a reply before remembering what Tatsumi just asked him. "Anyway, I was just doing my daily morning routine to stay in top shape. The general is expecting all of us to stay as strong as ever when we go on our next mission, and I want to live up to her expectations to further prove my worth as a soldier."

"Wow, that's some real dedication to your duty…" Tatsumi said before he noticed the conflicted look on Ren's face. "Something wrong? You look like there's someting bothering you."

The redhead shrugged and sighed afterwards. "Nothing really… I'm just thinking of how lucky you are and wonder if the same could ever happen to me."

"What do you mean?" Tatsumi asked in an intrigued tone, quirking an eyebrow.

"Well, I don't mean to sound rude or anything but… I'm quite jealous of you." Tatsumi's eyes widened slightly in surprise before Ren continued to explain further. "When you fought in the general's tournament yesterday, you were cheered on by hundreds of people and… I can't help but wonder if the same thing can happen to me someday. I was always looked down upon back in my village. Plus, you literally have the general's whole attention now since she's done nothing but think about you ever since yesterday and… finding love is probably an impossible dream for me. I tried my luck at dating a couple of times, but… none of my past relationships managed to work out well."

"Woah, really? I'm… I'm surprised…" Tatsumi muttered in disbelief. " _I can't believe he was this honest with me… we met no more than 24 hours ago and he's already sputtering out his own feelings towards a possible enemy…"_ he thought to himself before placing a hand on Ren's shoulder. "Dude, there's nothing to be jealous about… it's not like I wanted those people at the arena to cheer for me nor did I want Esdeath's full attention."

Ren sighed and nodded afterwards. "I know… I do my best to constantly prove myself and be acknowledged by the people around me… but I guess my mind can't help it sometimes…"

"And you just need to keep on doing that," Tatsumi cheered on. "If you want to be acknowledged, then don't give up on it. Someday, you'll find what you're looking for, including a girl who'll love you for the rest of your life."

"You speak as though you have a girlfriend… did you and the general get together already?" Ren asked, looking genuinely surprised with how Tatsumi just spoke.

Tatsumi decided to come clean and be honest as well in exchange for Ren being honest with him. "No, nothing like that. I already have a girlfriend, so… my relationship with Esdeath is complicated right now." the brunette admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

"I see… well, I appreciate your advice… I'll take it to heart and work hard for it." Ren muttered as an image of the mysterious red-eyed girl whom he had been constantly thinking of ever since meeting her, appeared in his mind. " _I do hope I'll meet her again… she interests me and I would like to know her better."_

Unaware of his thoughts, Tatsumi simply smiled in return. "No problem… and thank you for being honest with me. It really caught me off guard that one of the Imperial Guard would take the chance to tell a regular person something about his life out of the blue."

"We're not as bad as you think, you know." said Ren, smirking at him.

"I know… I've actually met one before and she's really unlike any other guard that I've encountered." Tatsumi said as he recalled the time when he introduced Seryu as the newest member of Night Raid, which was the start of a bright new beginning for her and Koro as she got accepted into their family. Afterwards, Tatsumi then noticed that the ring on Ren's hand had started glowing, which caught his attention. "By the way… that ring on your hand… it's a teigu, right? Can it really control fire?" he asked, remembering how the red-haired soldier had used it to burn those bandits alive from last night.

"I think so… the general said it was, since I wasn't really sure of what it was, at first." Ren muttered, raising his hand so he could look at his ring. "It first happened during a training session with the general and from that point onwards, it's like I have the same power as the general herself… except it's with fire and not ice."

" _Interesting… this could very well count as valuable information when I get out of here…"_ Tatsumi thought before speaking once again. "Well, where did you get it or how did you acquire it?"

"Hmm, I may have just gotten it about a week ago…" Ren explained. "I was at the Grand Canal, chasing an escaped criminal through the water but she stabbed me when I caught up to her so I sunk to the bottom… and then when I got to the shore about an hour later… this ring was already on my hand and I couldn't get it off, no matter how hard I tried to."

"That's… a bit unusual…" he commented and Ren only shrugged in response. "What its name?"

Ren scratched his hair in confusion before shaking his head. "I don't know… I guess I never really paid attention to it because all I've been thinking about is training to become stronger and that girl I met about a week ago…"

"Oh…" Although Tatsumi wasn't supposed to be doing this since he should be focusing on learning more about Ren's mysterious teigu, he couldn't help but take notice of what he just said. "So, a girl is more important to you than learning more about your own teigu?" he asked teasingly.

Ren was _too_ honest for his own sake.

"I-It's not like that!" said Ren, stepping back as a furious blush appeared on his face. "I haven't even properly introduced myself to her yet! Besides… when I met her, she looked like she was in a hurry so I didn't bother asking her name or anything… anyway, I've only met her once and that was during that time but… I hope we'll meet again somehow… I can't forget how beautiful she looked…" he muttered under his breath, which Tatsumi still managed to hear.

"That's good, buddy… you're one step closer to achieving your dream." Tatsumi said, patting his shoulder as a way of saying congratulations. "Maybe you'll really meet her again someday, just have some hope." _**(A/N: Don't encourage him, Tatsumi! You have no idea what's coming!)**_

"Shut up…" he grumbled, pushing Tatsumi's hand off his shoulder with his blush still evident. "But thanks all the same… I feel a lot more encouraged to train harder now."

Tatsumi only shrugged before walking past him. "Well, I'll be going now… Esdeath wants me to come with her to hunt for some danger beasts. And that reminds me, I need to go and quickly change my clothes!" he said as he took off at full speed, realizing that he only had 5 minutes left before he was supposed to meet with Esdeath, Wave, and Kurome.

"Good luck!" Ren exclaimed even though Tatsumi could no longer hear him with the distance he had just covered as the redhead continued on his way to the kitchen. " _Tatsumi's right… I'll just have to keep up hope that I'll see that red-eyed girl again… because I want to know more about her!"_ he thought, clenching his fists as his eyes were burning with determination.

* * *

 **(Three Hours Later; Famo/Fake Mountain)**

"Man… I know water danger beasts just fine…" Wave said, trailing slightly behind Tatsumi. "But I'm at complete loss in these damn mountains… I'm lucky that you know your way around these parts, Tatsumi… hehe…"

"Well, the danger beasts on this mountain launch surprise attacks using mimicry." Tatsumi said as he closely examined every rock and tree he passed by to try and spot any possible danger beasts hiding their real selves. "You have to be wary of practically everything in your path."

 _"Damn it… I knew it… I can't stop thinking about it…"_ Tatsumi thought, tightly balling his fists as he gritted his teeth. _"Coming back here… makes me think of Bro… no, I can't be like this! I have to stay strong! Once I get the chance, I can't blow it! Everyone back at the base is waiting for me to return… and I will not fail them! Akame, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Spear, Sayo, Lubbs, Boss… I swear I'll return home to all of you!"_

"Oi Tatsumi, you okay?" Wave asked, placing a hand on the brunette's shoulder. "You look spaced out for a minute there. Something on your mind?"

"Huh? O-Oh yeah… yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it!" Tatsumi said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "Sorry about that, I was just lost in thought… this place gives me the creeps sometimes…"

"Ah, don't worry about it." Wave said, chuckling lightly. "Y'know I couldn't say so in palace… but it seems like you've got it pretty rough… especially the general… man, I admire you for managing to last long against someone like her…" Wave said underneath his breath so that Tatsumi wouldn't hear him. "Anyways, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm always willing to lend an ear."

"Thanks, Wave." Tatsumi said with a small smile. "But I'm fine, trust me. I'm quite used to all this by now… and I can handle Esdeath just fine." he finished his words with a small smirk.

"I think I know where you're coming from." Wave said as he released a light sigh. "I actually think we're quite similar in a lot of ways."

"Similar?" Tatsumi repeated, quirking an eyebrow as he turned to face Wave with interest "How so? Mind explaining?"

"Hmm… well, how do I put this?" Wave pondered, crossing his arms over his chest. "I just feel like we've been through the same hardships, you know? And we're in for more hardships when the time comes."

"Yeah… I think I get it." Tatsumi said with a light chuckle, imagining Wave having to deal with the Jaegers on a regular basis, just like how he had to deal with Night Raid's members everyday. "You don't have to say anything elss anymore."

"Well since we're in the same boat, let's get along." Wave said, offering his hand to Tatsumi. However, he was surprised to see that the brunette was reaching to grab something that was just at the back of his pants. His eyes then shot open when Tatsumi suddenly pulled out a pistol. "What are you —!" Wave was cut off from his own words when Tatsumi turned around and fired the weapon, the bullet grazing his ear.

However, just when he was about to yell at Tatsumi, Wave heard a horrible screech come from right behind him. Immediately turning around in alarm, Wave was shocked to see a danger beast, disguised as a tree lying dead on the ground, with a bullet hole right through its large eye.

"Wave! Get your head in the game!" Tatsumi yelled, pulling out a sword that he took from the palace's armory as he combined his slashes with suppressive fire from his pistol against the approaching danger beasts. "There's a ton of these things coming our way!"

Remind him to thank Akame and Mine when he gets home for training him in swordsmanship and firearms.

"You saved me! Let me return the favor, then!" Wave exclaimed, pulling out _**Grand Chariot's**_ blade.

"Don't worry about me!" Tatsumi said, kicking another monster away before quickly reloading his pistol. "Just help me kill these annoying monsters…" When a few danger beasts managed to get close to them, Tatsumi used his sword to kill them with one sweep. "And then we'll be even!" Ducking underneath a danger beast's attack, Tatsumi quickly slashed through another group of mimics. _"I'm sorry Wave… as much as I appreciate the thought of being friends with you, this is the perfect chance to make my escape!"_

"Damn, there's so many of them…" Wave said as he quickly found themselves completely surrounded by danger beasts.

"They aren't that strong." Tatsumi said, firing an entire clip of ammo into the ever-growing group of mimics as he slashed gis way through another one. "Their only strength is their sheer numbers. Don't just focus on one!"

"Here goes nothing!" Wave said as he charged forward with Tatsumi by his side. "Let's finish them all off for good!"

For almost half an hour, Wave and Tatsumi cut and shot their way through the massive group of danger beasts, eventually managing to whittle their huge numbers down until the last few survivors retreated to their nests. "Phew… what a damn mess." Wave sighed in relief, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "Well, that ought to do it." With a confident smile, Wave rested _**Grand Chariot**_ on his shoulder. "Looks like we're done here, Tat —" Wave stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed that Tatsumi was nowhere in sight. "H-Huh? Where the hell —? WHAT?!" Quickly beginning to panic, Wave ran further up the mountain in search of the brunette. "That's weird of Tatsumi… where the hell did he go?" Wave stopped in his tracks as his eyes widened in fear.

 _"Wait, don't tell me… he ran away?!"_ A sudden chill ran down Wave's spine as he envisioned Esdeath's reaction to the news, which will not end well for him when he imagined the general's sadistic smile. "OH NO! I can understand why you did it man, but… I seriously can't let you! Esdeath will fucking kill me! And I'm too young to die! I still have dreams to fulfill!" Wave grabbed his teigu and gritted his teeth. "I guess I have no choice then." He slammed the teigu into the ground as he screamed. _**"Grand Chariot!"**_ A shockwave of energy exploded off Wave as a dark blue dragon-like danger beast, similar to _**Incursio**_ , appeared behind him. In a bright flash of light afterwards, Wave's body was encased in sleek dark blue armor. "Alright Tatsumi, where did you run off to?! Please tell me you haven't gone too far!"

 **(Same Time; With Tatsumi)**

Tatsumi was running away at his full speed from Wave's last location, determined to lose him before he could even think about getting back to the hideout. Thanks to his training, his speed was greatly enhanced along with his stamina, which will enable to keep on running for the next hour without even having to rest for even for a short while. But in the midst of his running through the vast forest, he was too preoccupied with the thought of escaping that he didn't notice a tree root sticking out from the soil, causing him to trip and fall to the ground.

 _"Everyone is probably worried sick about me… and I have valuable information to tell them… I can't waste a single moment. I need to lose Wave before he can catch up to me!"_ he thought to himself, clenching his fists.

However, before Tatsumi could get back up his feet, he heard a low growl. Raising his head, Tatsumi's eyes widened when he spotted a massive, lion-like danger beast stalking towards him. The danger beast sported three slitted eyes and large horns on both sides of its head.

 _"You've got to be kidding me…"_ Tatsumi thought, as he quickly got back up on his feet. _"Bad timing… just when I didn't want anything to be a bother…"_ Tatsumi quickly grabbed his pistol and aimed it at the danger beast. However, his eyes widened when nothing happened even after he pulled the trigger. "I guess I was stupid enough to waste all my ammo against those damn mimics…"

He threw his pistol on the ground and got into his fighting stance, ready for a fight against a Jackaleo. "Bring it on, fucker!" he taunted as he waited for the danger beast to strike. With a mighty roar, the monster leapt towards him, its teeth baring and ready to eat him whole yet Tatsumi stood his ground and was ready to take the beast head-on.

However, Tatsumi was surprised when three arrows were shot towards its side, causing the danger beast to start whimpering in pain. _"A-Arrows? It… It can't be… there's no way…"_

Before he knew it, Tatsumi then heard rustling coming from the woods in front of him. A sudden flash of gold burst out from the treeline, followed closely by a red and black blur. A second later, Tatsumi heard the Jackaleo bellow out a pained cry. Tatsumi turned to the danger beast and was shocked to see both Leone and Akame. Leone's heel slammed into the danger beast's back, instantly snapping its spine while Akame straddled the beast's neck, her _**Murasame**_ piercing through its skull.

"Akame and… Leone? Then… the one who fired those arrows…" Tatsumi said, his jaw slowly falling open in disbelief at finally seeing his two lovers once again, before turning his head to see a familiar face.

"Don't forget about me, idiot!" Sayo said as she hopped out of the trees and landed next to Akame and Leone.

"Sayo… what are you all doing here?" Tatsumi asked, before all three girls rushed towards him.

"We were all watching different areas." Akame explained, greeting him with a big hug. "I was in charge of watching the capital's front gate earlier. When I saw you leaving with Esdeath's group, I rushed back to the hideout to get Leone and Sayo, and we started to tail you all the way here. We just managed to catch up right now."

"I see…" Tatsumi muttered, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment as Akame let go of him. "You guys did all that… I'm sorry. Hehe… if I wasn't stupid to waste all my bullets against a bunch of mimics, there would be no need for you to save me…" Tatsumi was caught off guard when he was suddenly slapped across the face. Turning his head back, Tatsumi's expression fell when he saw tears starting to form in Leone's eyes.

"You idiot." Leone said, before she hugged Tatsumi's head against her breasts. "We'll always come and save you, whether you like it or not."

"Because we're comrades." Akame finished as she scooted next to Tatsumi and gently squeezed his hand, leaning in close to whisper in his ear. "And because we love you."

"I can't have you dying on me, idiot." Sayo said with a small smile, before she covered her face to hide her sudden tears of joy. " _Not until I get a chance to tell you what I feel…"_ she continued in her thoughts before she sniffled. "Don't ever scare me like that ever again, you moron."

"I'm sorry for making you all worry… but don't worry! I have tons of things to tell you all, but that'll have to wait until we get back to the hideout." Tatsumi said, as he looked at the three girls.

"You better be…" Sayo said, wiping away her tears before she threw herself onto him and buried her face into his chest, sobbing completely. "When I heard Esdeath captured you, I was afraid that we'd never see you again… I thought I lost you."

"I'm glad to see your faces again. It feels like I've been gone for a year…" Tatsumi said with a weak smile, chuckling slightly.

"Welcome back, Tatsumi." Akame said, helping her boyfriend get back up onto his feet.

"Oi, you guys!" Lubbock exclaimed, bursting out of the treeline behind them as he threw _**Starfall**_ towards Tatsumi, who managed to catch it in his grasp evem though he was surprised. "I appreciate the reunion, but we gotta get a move on! Follow me this way!"

"You heard the man." Sayo said as she slung her bow over her shoulder. Walking up to Tatsumi, she gave him a quick peck on the lips before pulling back in less than a second with a faint blush on her cheeks, and causing him to blush furiously. "It's good to have you back, Tatsumi."

"It's good to be back… Sayo…" Tatsumi said, tightly holding his teigu in his grasp as he followed the others back to the hideout.

"Look at the ladykiller…" Leone said with a teasing smirk, chuckling mischievously. "Are we gonna have another girl joining us soon?"

"Shut up." Tatsumi said immediately, rolling his eyes. " _But I'm really wondering why is Sayo acting like this… does she have feelings for me? Well… there's no need for her to give small signs like this if she really wants to be with me…"_ he said in his thoughts, chuckling slightly afterwards out of amusement.

"Whatever you say…" Leone said, shrugging her shoulders, yet she was already plotting on how she was going to tease Sayo when she joins their relationship, and even Mine since she noticed how the pinkette had been constantly thinking about Tatsumi ever since he got captured by Esdeath.

It wouldn't really be surprising if Mine wanted to be with Tatsumi as well.

"You know… Lubbock was really worried about you too." Akame said, which got her lover's attention. "He felt so guilty after you were captured… and even Leone for a little bit."

"Going to that tournament was his idea, so he kinda blamed himself for what happened. And I'm sorry… if there was some possible way for me to come save you, I would've done it…" Leone said, sighing slightly. "But that idiot, there's no way he could have predicted something like that would happen… and yet he kept on blaming himself…"

 _"Lubbock… Leone…"_ Tatsumi thought with a smile, as he stared at the green-haired man in front of him. He then scooted over to Leone, wrapping an arm around her as he pulled her close, with the busty blonde simply enjoying his touch and warmth. When he saw Akame giving the two of them a look of jealousy, he couldn't help but laugh before he pulled her towards him as well, giving her a kiss on the cheek before the three of them walked together.

 _"Night Raid...this is where I truly belong."_

* * *

 _ **And BAM! How was that as Esdeath's reaction?**_

 _ **To those of you who didn't get it, Esdeath didn't want to fight Tatsumi because of what she felt for him. In other words, her wish to redeem herself and her feelings for Tatsumi clashed in her mind before ultimately deciding against fighting him.**_

 _ **Instead, she applied her ideology of 'The strong survive' and took it as another sign that Tatsumi is the perfect lover for her. Since he is the only one to beat her and impress her both in combat and in anything else, it makes sense. Even though they were enemies before, they were only competitors in a tournament, so Esdeath doesn't have any real reason to apply their history to why she dislikes him. In fact, she doesn't even dislike him at all, she said it herself that she respected him last chapter.**_

 _ **However, she STILL wants to fight him, but she wants it to happen at the right time and place for a proper audience. When is that specific time and where is that place, you ask? She prefers it to happen in an arena full of spectators, so that they'll know how strong they both are, regardless of who loses. When it will happen? Stay tuned to find out :p**_

 _ **Tatsumi is building a friendship with the guy who's constantly thinking about his girlfriend, Akame? Shit, this is not good! Turn away while you have time, Tatsumi! Ren Ozaki is bad news! I can't imagine what would happen if they really did meet…**_

 _ **Tatsumi returns to Night Raid next chapter, and a new member of the harem is joining… stay tuned to know more!**_

 _ **Harem (Final): Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **If you want to catch up with me and your other favorite writers, join our Discord server:**_

[discord . gg / uDxVym8]

 _ **To those who want to join our Akame ga kill server…**_

[discord. gg / VX6sVkq]

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	21. Kill the Escape

"Normal Talking"

" _Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters…**_

* * *

 **(That Night; Capital's Palace)**

"U-Uh… I don't know what else to say…" Wave struggled to sputter out, feeling unbearable pain shoot throughout his entire body. The blue-haired man was currently tied to a post, while kneeling on top of wooden plank with several pointed protrusions that looked like needles, each of which were digging into legs. Adding to the pain were four stone slabs, which were placed on top of Wave's thighs, further pushing his legs down onto the sharp needles. The intense pain caused Wave to shed anime tears. "I am truly sorry. I deeply repent for what recklessness that I have done."

Standing before him were Esdeath, Kurome, and Run. The blue-haired general had a menacing scowl on her face with a dark look in her eyes as she rested her head on her palm.

"Your lack of vigilance resulted in my precious Tatsumi's escape…" Esdeath's voice was low and was filled with rage that could barely be contained. "And what's even worse… you allowed a member of Night Raid to escape. Kurome! Another stone!" Following orders given to her, Kurome grabbed another stone slab and rushed over to Wave, dropping the stone on top of the others, and causing the poor man to scream in pain. "If it was indeed Akame you saw, Night Raid must have been close at that moment. And yet… you let her escape. If they had managed to sense you earlier, they'll probably move to a new hideout at this rate… Kurome! Fire now!" Wave hissed in pain as burning hot wax began to drip onto his back, before Esdeath suddenly let out a deep sigh.

"Wave… you've truly disappointed me today… I was foolish to think you had reached your full potential and I fully regret my little mistake. But just this once, I'll let you off the hook with a little game of waterboarding and some light whipping."

 _"Y-You call that a game?!"_ Wave thought as his eyes widened in terror.

"However…" Wave's entire body when stiff when he heard Esdeath's dark and menacing tone. "Should you fail again, Wave… I will personally punish you… and I like to get very 'creative'… so don't you forget it."

"Y-Yes, ma'am." Wave stammered out, his heart thundering in his chest. But then all of a sudden, the door to the room burst open, and Ren Ozaki quickly made his way inside.

"General!" the redhead exclaimed, as he saluted Esdeath. "I have searched Famo for the past hours, but there are no signs of Tatsumi nor Night Raid. Forgive me, General… I wasn't fast enough, and now we lost our newest member…" he said, bowing his head in shame because he didn't fulfill his mission.

"It's fine." Esdeath said, releasing another sigh. "I see you as a soldier who specializes in combat, not tracking. But what about Stylish? He was also searching, correct?"

"Yes, I remember General… but he seems to be acting on his own at the moment since we took different paths in searching." Ren answered as he stood up on his feet. "So… I haven't heard anything from him yet."

"Well… I'm not gonna hold my breath on that." Esdeath said, pinching the bridge of her nose as she shook her head. "That man… tires me."

"Captain…about Tatsumi…" Run said, as he walked up next to Esdeath, getting her attention. "From what you said earlier, it's possible that he will likely join the rebel army because of his ideals about the Empire… you said so yourself." Ren's eyes briefly widened upon hearing his comrade's words.

"Yes… he even told me how the empire is not really strong at all and is only a product of the minister's cowardly deeds…" Esdeath said, lowering her gaze as she deeply thought about Tatsumi's exact words from last night.

"If he were to stand against us as an enemy… how should we proceed?" Run asked, as Esdeath turned her head to look at him.

"To be honest… I still really like Tatsumi… and I still think he's the one for me… and when I can't have something, it makes me want it even more." Esdeath said, narrowing her eyes as she smirked sadistically, before she took a deep breath afterwards. "However… the lives of my underlings come first. I do wish for him to be captured alive and be brought back here to me… but if there's no other option, bring him back dead. Our mission is to eliminate the enemies of the Empire, after all."

"Understood." Run said, nodding.

 _"If you're killed, it just means that you've grown weak…"_ Esdeath thought, getting out of her seat and walking out of the room. _"But you're not weak Tatsumi… I can tell that you're far stronger than what you showed at the tournament yesterday… I have the feeling that you're hiding something from me, but whatever it is, I'll learn about it…"_ Esdeath paused for a moment to readjust her cap. " _It's quite odd… I can't help but feel like… I'll be able to see Tatsumi again soon… or should I say… I will make sure I that see him again! Yes, and when that times comes, I'll unleash my feelings on him!"_

* * *

 **(The Next Day; Night Raid's Hidden Base)**

"And that's the overall strength of the Jaegers' combat force…" Tatsumi said, finishing his explanation in detail on everything he had seen from the Jaegers while he was away.

"So all of them really are teigu wielders…" Leone muttered, gritting her teeth as she crossed her arms. "This is gonna be tough to handle…"

"I can't believe Kurome is one of their members…" Akame muttered, as she hung her head in shame, feeling responsible for what has happened regarding her own sister.

"Akame… if you don't mind me asking…" Tatsumi said with a quirked eyebrow, getting the red-eyed assassin's attention. "Why didn't you flee the empire with Kurome?"

"I tried… when I was about to leave, I invited her with me of course…" Akame said, her eyes filled with sadness although she tried to keep up with her stoic facade. "But my sister chose to stay with the empire… as far as she knows… I'm a traitor in her eyes."

"Akame..." Tatsumi thought, he hated seeing Akame look so sad. He knew that he had to comfort her after this, even if she doesn't want to.

"Hey Tatsumi, was Kurome eating the same thing every time you saw her while you were there?" Akame asked as she locked eyes with the brunette.

"Yeah, now that you mention it…" Tatsumi said, rubbing his the back of his head as he remembered the sack that Kurome always carried with her. "She was eating some type of candy all the time… I don't think I've seen one time where she hasn't ate at all.

"I see…" Akame muttered, as she tightly balled her fists. "Kurome… you really are already —"

"Akame!" Mine exclaimed, snapping Akame out of her thoughts and causing her to turn her attention to the pinkette. "I know I've said this before but… even if she's your little sister, if she attacks us, I'm putting a shot right between her eyes." Mine huffed in annoyance as she crossed her arms over her chest. _"Sayo gets to come along with her to rescue Tatsumi, but I can't? What kind of reasoning is that? I wanted to help save him too…"_

"I'm sure Kurome is quite aware of that." Akame said, releasing a light sigh.

"Damn it… I wish I had more information on these teigus." Lubbock muttered, scanning over a book on all known teigu and taking down important notes. "The new member, Ren, can control fire with his ring, right? _**Rubicante's**_ famous, but it'll be difficult to think of a countermeasure for it."

" _ **Mastema**_ is mentioned in that book as well." said Seryu as she leaned over Lubbock's shoulder to gaze at the book while holding Koro in her arms.

"Yeah, but we have no idea on what secrets it could possibly hold." Lubbock said in a frustrated tone, scribbling out some of his notes wildly.

"That reminds me…" Tatsumi said, turning his head tk face Akame. "What's Kurome's teigu?"

" _ **March of the Dead: Yatsufusa**_." Akame replied, causing Tatsumi's eyes to slightly widen. "Those it slashes… can be her personal zombies. The curse can affect up to eight people all at once. It can also use the skills that her puppets had while they were still alive. When the control over them is released by her will or if the sword is destroyed, they revert back to corpses."

"Man, that's the last way I'd want to die." Lubbock said, as he leaned back on the couch he was sitting on. "So that leaves _**Grand Chariot**_ , the armor type teigu, _**Perfector**_ , the unknown teigu "

"I can attest to how strong _**Grand Chariot**_ is… I accidentally got hit by it earlier… but don't worry, it's taken care of." Tatsumi said, rubbing his sore arms that Wave had accidentally hit earlier when they were fighting against Danger Beasts.

"If they have a doctor, I'd want to take him out first." Mine said as she crossed her arms over her chest and smirked. "It'd be very beneficial to have _**Perfector**_ on our side."

"Yeah, that teigu sounds super useful, especially for medical purposes." said Leone, looking over all the info that Tatsumi had provided.

 _"If that creepy doctor heard that, he'd be ecstatic."_ Tatsumi thought, sweat-dropping as his face fell. However, he was then caught off guard when he felt someone patting his head. Looking up, Tatsumi saw Leone smiling at him, before she pulled him in between her breasts.

"All your hard work really paid off Tatsumi!" Leone cooed, holding the brunette tightly against her chest. "This information on who are enemies are is a big help! Well done, Tatsumi!"

"Well, there's one other opponent that I haven't figured out yet whether he's a real threat or not" Tatsumi said, his voice muffled by the busty blonde's ample bosom.

"Alright Leone that's enough, you're gonna suffocate him." Mine said in annoyed tone, her brow twitching ever so slightly. Ever since Tatsumi was captured, there was nothing on Mine's mind except for the young man coming back home to them. Like Akame and Leone, she wanted to save him from Esdeath's clutches just to see him again. While he was with them, Mine always felt that someone was protecting her and she would always feel her heart pounding whenever he was around her, either to compliment her or train with her.

It led to her to think that what she felt for him was not a petty crush anymore.

Yes, Mine was now in love with Tatsumi.

And yet, her pride was too big for her to even say it out loud. Let alone in front of the man himself. That… and there was still the issue on who was Tatsumi's girlfriend between Akame and Leone. She still couldn't get it out of her mind, the image of Akame locking lips with the brunette and Leone doing the same.

Maybe… Maybe he was dating both of them?

No, no! That wasn't the topic of this discussion!

"Mmm, I think you're just jealous that you can't do this with him… don't worry, you _can_ do this too if you'd just throw away that pride of yours…" Leone teased, as she released Tatsumi, the young man coughing a few times to regulate his breathing. "With those nubs that you call breasts."

Mine's face burned bright red in both embarrassment and anger, and she was about to chew the busty blonde out, but she bit her tongue and took a calming breath. She knew better than to make a comeback out of her feelings. "Anyways… Tatsumi, after seeing these 'Jaegers' up close, how strong are they?"

"Well, as a team that works together, I think we'll have our hands full… they all have teigus, and each one have special abilities that we may or may not know about. Including Ren Ozaki, since I have no info whatsoever on that strange ring of his, only the fact that he can control fire with it. And as far as Esdeath goes…" Tatsumi replied, as he scratched the side of his head. "She was off the charts…" Tatsumi suddenly clenched his fists. "I don't even know if I can beat her again…"

His last statement appeared to strike through everyone's soul, as Leone spoke again with a shocked tone. "Again? Tatsumi, what are you talking about?" she asked, with Akame nodding as she wanted an answer as well.

"It's like what I told you before, Leone… I've encountered Esdeath years ago." he revealed, looking at everyone else with a serious look.

"Woah, seriously?" Lubbock said, dumbfounded with what Tatsumi just told them. "Then how in the hell are you still alive right now?"

"It was way before she had a teigu… about 8 years ago. It was only a one-time encounter and we never saw each other again after it… until now. Long story short, we met in a tournament and we fought each other. I beat her and that was it…" he said, shrugging his shoulders as he wasn't in the mood to tell them.

"Tatsumi…" Spear called out with a conflicted look. "If it doesn't bother you, can you please tell us the whole story? We want to know what exactly happened between you two."

"I agree." Akame said, nodding in agreement. "We want to know how were you involved with Esdeath back then, Tatsumi."

"Yeah, you owe me this one explanation you know…" Leone said, crossing her arms before smirking.

"I want to know too." Mine simply said, turning her head to look at the brunette.

"Fine…" Tatsumi sighed, knowing that he had no way out of this. "I'll tell you guys everything. But just remember that this was 8 years ago… a lot has changed since then, including me."

For the next hour, Tatsumi told his comrades everything about his first meeting with Esdeath exactly like how he told the blue-haired general about it. Starting from when he left his village to join the tournament at the Northern region, to his first meeting with Esdeath at the motel, to their eventual battle in the tournament itself, and to his victory over her after a long and grueling fight. The other members of Night Raid were nonetheless surprised that he encountered Esdeath years back but they were more shocked at the fact that he managed to beat her even though he was only 10 years old at the time, with Esdeath being a few years older than him.

It made them think if Tatsumi was still human, because to survive _and_ defeat the strongest woman in the empire is considered an impossible feat, even if Esdeath was only a teenager.

And to think that he was only 10 years old that time?

"I think I get why you never told me about it…" Sayo said, looking down on the floor.

"Dude… just wow." Lubbock breathed out, unable to say anything else at the moment.

"You went toe-to-toe with the strongest general in the empire and even kicked her ass in the end? You just gave me more reason on why I chose you as my mate, Tatsumi!" Leone grinned, making the brunette turn his head away in slight embarrassment before rolling his eyes.

"Ok, I seriously need to catch up with all of you… I feel like I'm the only one in this room who's not even as strong as one of you… damn it, I need to train harder than what I'm doing right now…" Spear muttered in disbelief, before slumping her shoulders in defeat.

"Wow, I never knew that the general has faced defeat before! I always thought that she was unbeatable but it looks like I was wrong! Can I train with you sometime, Tatsumi? Me and Koro would want to learn more from you!" said Seryu, saluting Tatsumi with a small blush on her face.

"Sure, I guess?" Tatsumi replied, scratching the back of his head. "I don't know, maybe when I have time…"

"Either way, this is not the Esdeath that Tatsumi fought back then… 8 years have passed by, and I doubt that she's still as strong as she was in that tournament…" Mine said, clenching her fists. "And we have no idea what her teigu is truly capable of, right? Just great…"

"Nope… we have next to no information on her teigu." Lubbock replied, as he flipped through the pages on book of teigus that he held in his hands. "This book has nothing on how far or how thoroughly she can freeze something… we'd have to witness it first-hand on how she uses it to even determine how strong she really is."

"It's true that Esdeath is incredibly strong… but she has one weakness…" Akame said with her hair shadowing her eyes as she stood up from her seat.

"And that is?" Sayo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She's alive… she is human… she has a beating heart… and so…" Akame said, before raising her teigu, _**Murasame**_. "I will cut it out and bury her. Even if she is the empire's strongest!"

"Hmm, nice speech…" Tatsumi grinned, sending the red-eyed a thumbs-up before he started to think deeply to himself. " _Akame, you may say that but… I have the feeling that it would be the other way around… she may be the one to cut — NO!"_ he then shook his head to get that particular thought out of his mind. " _No… that won't happen! F-Forgive me, Akame… I should not be doubting you… I'm sorry…"_

Unknown to Tatsumi, while he was lost in his own mind, Mine had turned her gaze towards him with a conflicted expression. There it was again; she could definitely see Akame blushing at his statement, and then there was what Leone said earlier, about Tatsumi being her mate. This was getting more and more complicating with every sign she's getting from both sides, and it almost seemed like Tatsumi had both girls as his girlfriends.

" _Akame's blushing at that simple compliment despite being stoic most of the time… and Leone said that… Tatsumi was her mate? What the hell does this mean? God, I swear this is getting harder and harder to figure out! While Tatsumi was gone, the two of them were the most affected out of all of us besides me… does Akame have a thing for Tatsumi and he likes Leone instead? Or… is it the other way around? Or maybe… they both like him but he doesn't like them since he likes… Oh my God…"_ An image of her and Tatsumi kissing appeared in her mind and she quickly shook it off with her face burning bright red.

" _KYAAA! No, no, get it together! Don't assume things! Tatsumi's not like that to ignore girls since Sayo told me about how he used to reject fangirls back in his home village and yet… I haven't seen him reject Akame and Leone… and if he did, I wouldn't have seen him kissing the two of them! GAH! I need to know the real deal behind this stupid mystery now before it's too late!"_

"Well, I think that's all that needs to be discussed for now…" said Akame, breathing deeply as she looked at all of her comrades. "This meeting is adjourned. You can go back to whatever you were doing."

Now, if Mine didn't know better, she'd immediately leave for some training at the firing range but she turned her attention to Tatsumi instead. While the other members have all left one by one, Mine's eyes slowly widened when she noticed that Tatsumi didn't even move from his place, looking like he wasn't even listening to what Akame just said. When Spear had finally left, only Tatsumi, Leone, Akame and her were left in the meeting room as the pinkette became even more confused with her suspicions.

" _Okay, this is really messed up… everybody else left but these three stay behind? Tatsumi… looks calm and Leone's stupid grin is showing… Akame is looking at the doorway like she doesn't care at all…"_ she asked herself. " _Don't tell me… they're actually —"_

"Oi Mine…" said Leone, cutting the pinkette off from her thoughts. "Aren't you supposed to be training right now? You said so yourself earlier."

"Huh?" Mine turned her head towards the blonde, before she noticed that Akame and Tatsumi were also staring blankly at her. Yelping in embarrassment, her face started to grow red before she finally managed to speak again. "Oh! That's right, yeah! I needed to go train for another mission soon! I'll catch you later!" Without another word, the pink-haired sniper ran for it, leaving the room with only the three assassins left behind.

As soon as she left the room, Leone grinned and immediately latched herself to Tatsumi's arm and giggled like a schoolgirl, causing the brunette himself to blush furiously out of surprise. Akame's eyes widened slightly before they went back to their original size, feeling jealousy wash over her as she watched Leone clinging on to Tatsumi.

"You know, I missed you Tatsumi…" she purred, nuzzling her face into his arm. "What do you say we spend the night together in each other's arms? If you know what I mean, hehe…" she smirked after her statement, taking amusement in his embarrassed look.

"Leone…" A monotone voice called out as Akame grabbed on to Tatsumi's other arm, trying to pull him away from the busty blonde and into her embrace instead. "If anyone's going to be with Tatsumi tonight, it will be me. I wasn't able to eat properly for the past few days while Tatsumi was gone, but now he is back with us… I deserve to be with him."

"Oh, really?" Leone's smirk grew even wider. "Then why don't we have one big solution to this? We can all have some fun together, the three of us! Hey, that's actually a good idea! It'll last the whole night! What do you say?!"

Tatsumi jaw-dropped as he imagined the possible scenario between the three of them all in bed together; a small trail of blood could be seen flowing from his nose, finding the image of a threesome to be quite hot while Akame's eyes widened considerably as the blush on her face skyrocketed and became more furious than ever. _**(A/N: If you want to see a threesome lemon between these 3, just leave a review. I'll find a way to sneak it in.)**_

Shaking her head, Akame narrowed her eyes and went back to her monotone voice. "Absolutely not. If the three of us are going to be together in the same room, then we will only sleep altogether. No more, no less." Akame stated, latching further towards Tatsumi's arm. " _Me and Tatsumi can just catch up some other night when Leone's not there…"_

"Aw, come on Akame! It'll be fun, I'm sure of it! And then we can all catch up together! That'll be more fun than being just alone with him, right?" Leone began with a childish pout, which then morphed into a wide grin.

"No. We sleep altogether or stay out of Tatsumi's room. That's final." said Akame, her eyes narrowing more than ever, as it finally got Leone to remove the smile she had on her face, replacing it with a scowl.

"So, it's gonna be that way huh?" Leone said, pulling Tatsumi towards her huge bosom. "Well, nothing's gonna stop me from spending time with Tatsumi! Not even you, Akame."

"I will make sure Tatsumi spends time with me today…" Akame replied, pulling Tatsumi back and into her own breasts. "If you interfere in any way Leone, I will bury you."

All of a sudden, Tatsumi managed to finally separate himself from Akame's chest and once again stuck in between the two assassins. Taking a few deep breaths, he chuckled nervously. "Come on, girls… you know I love both of you… can't I have a say in this?"

"NO!" the two girls said in unison, continuing their little tug-of-war over Tatsumi.

"Help me…" the brunette wheezed out, sighing in defeat.

While the two women were fighting over who gets to be with Tatsumi for the night, Mine stood just outside the doorway, leaning on the doorway next to it. Breathing heavily, the pinkette covered her mouth with both her hands as her heart thundered inside her chest. When she left the meeting room earlier, she didn't really go back to her room as she still wanted to find out what was going on, yet she wasn't prepared for she just heard.

" _Tatsumi loves… Akame and Leone… and even Esdeath is in love with him too…"_ Mine thought, a furious blush appearing on her face. " _Wait, does… does this mean… I have a chance with him? If he's… dating both of them, can he… can he still accept me? E-Ever since I first trained with him, Tatsumi's always been on my mind and I can't stop thinking of him… he's always looking out for me and he knows how to make me feel happy all the time. When he was gone, I… felt empty inside… like I was never going to see him again… and when he hugged me… that was the first time that I… no… no, I can't deny it anymore!"_ she said to herself, gulping heavily as if she just swallowed her own pride. " _I'm… I'm in love with Tatsumi too. This isn't just a lame crush anymore… and I need to make a move before it's too late… Tatsumi was already captured once, and it won't be surprising if it happened again!"_

Clenching her fists in determination, she began to head back towards her room, with the blush on her face still evident yet she looked dead serious.

" _I'll do it tonight! I don't care if Leone or Akame is with him! I'll tell him what I feel and be straightforward, even just for once!"_ she thought to herself.

* * *

 _ **Damn, Wave got punished for letting Tatsumi escape… heh. Well, this only leads to one thing in canon. Stylish finding out the location of Night Raid's base! Better watch out for that! I apologize for the short update, but the next one will be better, trust me!**_

 _ **And Tatsumi reveals the history between him and Esdeath to his friends. This is good, it will further raise the trust they have for each other and will help them stick together till the end. I hope their reactions were on point, though.**_

 _ **Akame and Leone fighting over Tatsumi, lol. Leone suggested a threesome, but Akame didn't want to do it… ended up with the two of them nearly starting a catfight… hm, this is interesting, and I want to ask you guys something. But I'll have to capitalize it in the end.**_

 _ **Lastly, Detective Mine finally puts the pieces together and suspects that Tatsumi is dating both Leone and Akame. And she loves Tatsumi now? Not surprising, but I can't wait for her join the harem! Hmm, she looks like she's about to confess but who knows? Better tune in next chapter to find out!**_

 **KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!**

 _ **Harem (Final): Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **QUESTION: DO YOU WANT TO SEE A LEMON BETWEEN AKAME, TATSUMI, AND LEONE IN THIS FANFIC? LEAVE A REVIEW.**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **If you want to catch up with me and your other favorite writers, join our Discord server:**_

[discord . gg / uDxVym8]

 _ **To those who want to join our Akame ga kill server…**_

[discord. gg / VX6sVkq]

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	22. Kill the Feelings

"Normal Talking"

 _"Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters…**_

* * *

 **(Several Hours Later)**

" _Well, as much as I love Akame and Leone sleep with me, I gotta admit this is good in its own way…"_ Tatsumi said to himself, drying his hair and body off with a towel. As he opened the door to his room, neither Akame nor Leone could be seen and he smiled as he put on some clothes. After a long debate on who will get to be with him for the night, Tatsumi decided that neither of them would be with him, as he wanted to sleep peacefully and because he wasn't really in the mood to have sex with either of them. Although the two girls were saddened by his decision, Tatsumi promised them that he would be spending the next few nights with them as much as they want.

" _I guess I should enjoy the peace and quiet I'll get from this night, not that I'm saying that Akame or Leone are loud…"_ he thought, chuckling softly as he glanced at the clock on the wall. He then noticed that it was nearly 9 in the evening, causing him to jump into the bed, ready to sleep. " _Well, I have nothing else to do… I guess I should get some sleep already…"_ Rolling over in his bed, Tatsumi was about to close his eyes when he heard a sudden knock on his door. Snapping his eyes back open, he turned his attention to the doorway and scratched the back of his head. " _Who could it be this time?"_

Getting out of bed, Tatsumi headed for the door. He was expecting it would be Akame or Leone or even both of them, stating their desire to sleep with him no matter what but once he had opened the door, he was surprised to see Mine outside his room. The pink-haired sniper seemed embarrassed and flustered for some reason, and Tatsumi wondered why she was here. "Mine? What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be asleep?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"I… I… I n-needed to talk… t-to you… i-it's really important…" she stuttered, fidgeting slightly as she struggled to keep her gaze locked on to his face.

"Oh… well come on in, then. Let's take this inside." he told her, stepping aside to let the pinkette make her way in. Mine stepped inside, and before they knew it, the two of them were both seated on the bed, sitting in awkward silence. Normally, Tatsumi wouldn't really be like this and be straightforward, but now that he thought about it, this was most likely the first time that Mine had stepped inside his room.

And like with Akame's first trip here, he was caught off guard when another one of his girl comrades was here, let alone at night. Despite the fact that Leone and Akame spent most of their nights here, Tatsumi was still a bit uncomfortable with a girl being in his room, let alone Mine.

It was always one of his greatest weaknesses. Being a little _too_ close to girls. If it was just a normal friendship between them, he'd have no problem with it.

But what he had with Mine felt like something more than _just_ friendship. Right?

" _This is so awkward… I haven't been alone with a girl in my own room during the night ever since Akame…"_ he thought to himself, trying his best to avoid getting embarrassed. From how he knew Mine so far, she easily gets embarrassed despite her arrogant exterior, yet she was also a good and reliable friend to him. Although she didn't actually see him as an equal when they first met, Tatsumi didn't care at all and still treated her the same way he did towards Akame and the others. In return, Mine became less brash towards him and started to see him like a real friend and as someone she could look up to.

" _It's almost as if Mine likes — NO! That can't be! She doesn't see me like that! S-She's just a friend!"_

But, hugging one of her friends, who happened to be a boy, out of the blue was not typical for a tsundere like her to do.

"Soooo… what did you want to talk about?" he asked, attempting to break the strange silence between them.

"Well… I've been thinking about a lot of things for the past few days…" she said quietly, twiddling her thumbs. "Ever since you got captured by that fucking general and got stuck in the capital…" she said in an annoyed tone, as if she didn't like the memory of Tatsumi gone.

Tatsumi nodded slowly. "Ok… then what?"

" _Damn it! What happened to being straightforward?! Come on, just tell him! I thought I prepared myself for this, but I'm seriously freaking out right now! AH! Why can't I just tell him?!"_ the girl thought, tightly grabbing the hem of her pink night dress in frustration.

"Hey, Mine? Is something wrong?" he asked, turning his head to look at her when he noticed that she looked nervous.

"I saw what happened between you, Leone, and Akame earlier." she stated, causing Tatsumi's eyes to snap open in shock. "But it's not only that… I-I saw you kissing Akame and Leone the night Sheele died and I thought that… you were dating both of them… i-is that true?" she asked, turning to look at Tatsumi with a confused expression.

Meanwhile, Tatsumi looked like a deer caught in headlights as a huge blush appeared on his face.

" _Shit, she knows about that?! Oh God, she probably thinks I'm some kind of insane pervert now! And to think our relationship has been going well too…"_ he thought to himself in panic before noticing that she was still looking at him, waiting for an answer. She didn't look like she was angry or anything, because her eyes simply told him that all she wanted was for him to answer. Realizing that there would really be no harm in trusting his own instincts, he gulped first before nodding slowly. "U-Uh, yeah… I-I-I'm dating them… and… I'm in love with… both of them…"

"O-Oh…" Mine mumbled, feeling a piece of her heart shatter into pieces, greatly affecting her confidence. She looked down on the floor and contemplated on what Tatsumi just said. " _I-It's true… Tatsumi's dating… the two of them…"_ she thought to herself, nearly reaching the point that she'd run out the door and leave him hanging there for the night. However, she still managed to clench her fists and shut her eyes, her determination as strong as ever. " _No! I have to do this! If Tatsumi can love two women at the same time, he can do with three! I need to tell him what I feel!"_

"Mine… why are you asking, by the way?" Tatsumi asked, before he was caught off guard when the pinkette looked back at him.

All of a sudden, she began to speak again. "While you were gone, I felt strange… normally, I'd feel sad and have the wish to rescue my friend no matter who it is that got captured… but it was different in your case. I-It's like… I felt kind of empty inside and it felt like this place just lost all signs of happiness with you gone… but now that you're back, I feel complete again… I know this is really awkward for me to say, but… this place won't be the same without you, so… I'm glad that you're back Tatsumi." she said with a furious blush dusting her cheeks.

" _W-What is she talking about? She felt empty inside? What the heck does that mean? She's not saying she had another fever or something worse than that while I was gone, right? Damn it Mine, just tell me what's bothering you already!"_ he thought, shaking his head furiously as he attempted to figure out what was wrong. "T-Thanks, Mine… that means a lot… coming from you."

Hearing those encouraging words from Tatsumi appeared to have given her confidence a major boost as she braced herself to speak again. " _Time to wing it…"_ she thought, breathing deeply.

"When I first met you, I thought you were just some immature punk who Leone just wanted to drag along in this dark path. But after I saw how you fight and hearing your story as a kid, I began to see you in a different light. I saw that you're incredibly powerful and reliable, and you care so much for your friends that you're willing to sacrifice your life for them, like with Sayo. And you even got one of the people who's supposed to be our enemy to fight on our side, which only proves how special you are. Also… not to mention, you're good-looking yourself. That was the moment when I… I felt something for you."

Tatsumi was rendered speechless with Mine's words, completely taken aback with her releasing her own feelings.

"At first, it was nothing more than a silly crush… you know, just basing it on your looks, abilities, and stuff like that… but when we first trained together, I think that was the time when it started to grow into something more. I felt ashamed that I couldn't teach you anything good, because no matter what I did, you aced it like a professional. So I decided to try and learn from you instead, which didn't work out at all. And then… you hugged me." The blush on her face skyrocketed as she smiled at that particular memory. "That was the first time I've been hugged ever since I left my home village… and being in your arms felt so… warm and comforting, like you were telling me that everything was going to be okay. I liked it so much that… it made me a bit sad that it had to end too soon."

" _N-No way… M-Mine… really likes me? How did I not see this coming?!"_ Tatsumi said to himself as he continued to listen to the pinkette's words.

"When Bulat and Sheele died and I had a fever, you still went out your way to make me feel better, even though you had no business with it. It made me want to feel your warmth again, so I hugged you out of nowhere." The two assassins blushed at remembering that memory in the kitchen. "I'm sorry if I caught you off guard that time, but… I think you didn't mind at all. And then… that night, I wanted to go to you and ask if I could sleep with you in your room."

"W-What?" Tatsumi said in complete shock. " _Okay, she may like me, I can understand that… but for Mine to ask if she could sleep with me is ridiculous! Is this even Mine?!"_

"You made me feel better even though two of our friends died… I thought if I…" she twiddled her fingers faster than before, since this conversation was starting to take an intimate turn. "I thought if I slept with you in your bed, I'd feel comfortable and be a lot better than being alone… but then I saw you kissing Akame in the kitchen. And then not too long after that, I saw you with Leone. That was when I began thinking whether or not you had a relationship with either of them and it made me so confused for weeks until now."

"I do have a relationship —"

"Let me finish." Mine cut him off, turning her head to look at Tatsumi with determination burning in her eyes. "I felt a bit hurt that time, and I forgot all about wanting to sleep with you… but it was when you got captured by Esdeath that all the pieces started to connect altogether. While you were gone, I wanted so bad to come and rescue you that I used my own willpower to keep myself calm… I was extremely worried that you might not be able to make it back alive… and I was pissed that I wasn't invited along to rescue you… not that I'm doubting your abilities, but… I just wanted to see you again." Tatsumi could only look on in shock as Mine continued in her words. "I've denied it loads of times, I didn't believe my own feelings but… when I found out that you were dating both Akame and Leone, I might lose you forever if I didn't act soon. Tatsumi, I… I-I… l-love…" A massive blush appeared on the girl's face as she once again hesitated.

" _Come on, just do it! You'll miss your chance if you don't do it now!"_ Mine screamed to herself, tightly shutting her eyes. " _You're an assassin, so you don't have to be afraid of things like this! You've done things that are way worse than this!"_ Finally making up her mind, Mine snapped her eyes wide open and lunged towards Tatsumi, tackling him towards the bed and wrapped her arms around his neck before pressing her lips to his in a passionate kiss.

As she continued to let out her feelings, Mine couldn't help but feel her own heart soaring as it pounded madly in her chest. This was her first kiss and although she had no experience in this level of intimacy, all she did was follow her own instincts and it felt like nothing she has ever felt before. The feeling of finally kissing Tatsumi was so good and Mine wanted it to never end, but the damn lack of air prevented that from happening as she was forced to pull away from him.

"M-Mine?" Tatsumi breathed out, completely taken aback with what the pinkette just did that he didn't even get to return the sudden kiss because he was too shocked to do so. After he slowly realized everything she said, he had a feeling that Mine was going to confess her love, but he definitely wasn't expecting a tsundere like her to kiss him out of the blue. "Does that mean… you love—"

"Tatsumi, I…" Mine said in a voice so quiet that only the brunette could hear, resting her head on his chest. It was adorable to see that she was still embarrassed and hesitated to say something even though they were the only ones there. "I love you. Back then, what I felt for you was just a simple crush, but it's different now. I want to be with you and spend the rest of my life with you as well, even if you already have Akame and Leone. So please tell me that you love me too! Tell me that there's a place in your heart for me!" Mine suddenly gripped Tatsumi's shirt tightly, and just from her voice, the young man could tell that she was fighting tears.

He took a deep breath and touched her soft back gently, pulling her towards him even more as he forced himself to sit up, with Mine sitting on his lap as a result. The pinkette clung on to him, and he smiled slightly at her before finally speaking. "Mine… look at me." he said, causing her to separate from his chest and he could see the few tears that escaped her eyes. Without any warning, he cupped her cheek before leaning forward, capturing her lips in another kiss.

Mine's eyes widened at his action, before she closed her eyes happily and returned his kiss without hesitation. This must mean that he accepted her confession, right? Their tongues waltzed inside their mouths and Tatsumi wrapped his whole right arm around her, securing her in place as he dipped the girl slightly, allowing him to push more of his tongue inside her, making Mine moan softly in his cavern. Mine wrapped her arms around his neck tighter as she basically clung on to him like a baby sloth, the tears in her eyes forgotten like mere memories. This whole liplock lasted for more than a minute before Tatsumi was the one who pulled away this time, resting his forehead against hers as he closed his eyes.

"T-Tatsumi…" was all that she could breathe out, completely blown away with how much of a good kisser the brunette was. It almost felt like her own soul was set ablaze by Tatsumi's lips, but Mine wasn't going to complain about that.

"Mine…" he spoke again, opening his eyes so that he was staring into her pink orbs, a small blush on Mine's cheeks at the sudden closeness. She could directly feel his breath on her skin. "I should've known… the way how you've been less brash towards me… the hug… everything… if I had just known, you wouldn't be having a problem right now."

Mine could only look at him, speechless as he continued to let out his own feelings. "The truth is, I do feel a special connection between us ever since we first trained together, and it grew stronger as time passed. You were one of the people I missed the most while I was away… and I don't exactly know if what I feel for you is love, but I'm willing to explore it and make it even stronger with you." He separated from her forehead and framed her face with his fingers, his touch sending tingles down to the pinkette's spine. "Besides, the three of us agreed that anybody could join our relationship as long as they're fine with it… if it's you, then for sure, Akame and Leone wouldn't have it any other way. You deserve a happy life outside this dark path, and I'll be glad to give it to you." he finished with a smile on his face.

"Oh, Tatsumi!" Mine cried out with fresh new tears of joy streaming out of her eyes, wrapping her arms around him in a tight bearhug. She buried her face into his shirt, relishing in her own happiness that her feelings got returned and the fact that he was willing to give her a bright future ahead, despite their assassin work. Tatsumi wrapped his other arm around her as well, as he rested his chin on top of her head with a smile on his face. He never expected Mine to fall for him, but he wasn't going to complain about it. He cared for the girl, and if she loved him like how Akame and Leone does, he wasn't going to reject her just like that.

Mine felt overjoyed that her confession was a success and it didn't lead to something bad despite her nervousness earlier, but there was still something she needed to know. Something that her jealousy was telling her to ask.

Separating from their embrace, Mine looked up at her love with an embarrassed expression. "Tatsumi… c-can I ask you something?" she asked with a rather flustered voice.

"Sure, ask whatever you want." he replied, shrugging his shoulders with a smile.

"Well… I know Akame and Leone were fighting over you earlier and I heard… some _things_ while they were arguing. I just wanted to ask… have you… you know, done ' _that'_ with either of them?" she asked, biting her bottom lip.

" _That?"_ Tatsumi repeated in his head in a confused expression before he noticed the embarrassed look on her face when she asked her question. "Oh, you mean sex?" Quickly turning her head away, she nodded slowly and Tatsumi shrugged again. "Well, yeah we've done that a few times already… not the three of us altogether, though…"

" _GAH! I knew it! The way Tatsumi was kissing Leone that night and how they were talking about having fun together earlier, it all points that they already had sex with him! I have to catch up to the two of them!"_ Mine thought, quickly separating from Tatsumi as she stood on the edge of the bed. " _I don't want to lose to either of them… if I can kiss Tatsumi, then I can also do this! There's no going back now…"_

 _ **[*Super Sexy Lemon Alert*]**_

"Mine? W-What are you doing?" Tatsumi asked, feeling his face start to heat up when the pinkette started to tug on her clothes.

"Tatsumi, I know this seems crazy and out of the blue…" she said, reaching down to the end of her night dress before pulling it up and taking it off her, revealing a pair of pink lacy underwear. Tatsumi's eyes widened and he had bite back a gulp of nervousness as Mine stood before him, half-naked. She may be inferior to Leone and Akame in terms of body figure, but that didn't mean that she wasn't beautiful in her own way. In fact, Mine's own appeal added to her cuteness and it made her even more adorable than she always looked. Tatsumi's face became totally red as Mine struggled to keep her gaze towards him, rubbing her elbows nervously. "I know I'm… not as big or curvy as… Akame or Leone, but… will you make love to me, Tatsumi?"

"Mine… a-are you sure about this? There's no need for you to give yourself to me immediately… I can wait, you know. This is a big step that you have to think about first. There's no need to be jealous." Tatsumi said, waving his arms in front of him. This was all new, because he never would've imagined Mine (Night Raid's resident tsundere) being in front of him, willingly giving herself to him.

"I'm sure, Tatsumi." she replied, leaning closer to him, before she grabbed his hand and placed on her bra-clad breasts. The brunette had to shake his head and resist the urge to grope Mine's budding breasts. "It's not really about me being jealous. I want to be closer to you and show you how much I love you, Tatsumi. Please… any day could be our last and I don't want to die without even getting to be this intimate with the one I love." she said, looking at him with pleading eyes.

" _Damn… she really wants to do this… I don't even know if the Mine I knew is here… oh well, I'm not one to refuse to give the people I care about what they want…"_ Tatsumi thought, taking a deep breath before he stood up and placed his hands on Mine's shoulders, removing the clips that held her hair into twin-tails and letting her pink locks free. "If that's what you really want, who am I to deny the 'genius sniper' what she desires?" he said with a smirk.

"Tatsumi…" she breathed out in happiness before the young man moved in to capture her lips again, engulfing her mouth in another passionate liplock. Unlike the first two kisses that they shared earlier, lust could be easily felt lying underneath their feelings for each other. Tatsumi, having been involved in sexual acts way before Mine, knew just what he needed to do in order to please a girl and make her feel heavenly. And since this was Mine's first time, this would be a piece of cake.

While they were sucking each other off, Tatsumi's hands went down Mine's shoulders and slowly ran his fingers up down her sides, sending goosebumps all over the pinkette's skin and causing her to stand on her tiptoes as she moaned into his mouth. In return, Mine wrapped one arm around his neck and her other hand went to his hair, furiously massaging his scalps in response to his action, making their makeout session more intimate than ever.

Done with his initial teasing, his hands went further down and planted themselves towards her soft and firm butt, and Mine moaned louder inside his mouth as a result. " _So that's how it works, huh…"_ Tatsumi thought to himself, figuring out how to make this extremely satisfying for the pink-haired sniper. He became a little more mischievous as he slipped his right hand inside her pink panties, softly squeezing her butt cheek.

"Tatsumi…" the girl moaned, her voice muffled by his own mouth. The brunette only smiled as he continued his work to please her; he wanted to make Mine have the time of her life while he was in control, before he would let her do what she wanted later on. Their kiss continued on despite his ministrations, surviving on what little air they had left before they'd eventually separate later, which was something Mine didn't like. She wanted to have more of Tatsumi as much as possible, and breaking off their kiss is no good.

Removing his arm from her back, his left hand dove deeper as well, joining his other arm down inside her panties, palming each cheek in his hand and it caused Mine to slightly drool, her saliva escaping the side of her mouth. Tatsumi started to massage and roll her soft cheeks in his hands, playing with them as if he was playing with breasts.

"Tatsumi!" Mine yelped out, finally separating from his lips for air and because she had just realized that her butt was sensitive. "T-Tatsumi… ahh…" she continued to breath out as she leaned on him, feeling her body getting physically weaker because of what he was doing to her. It was the girl's first time, so it wouldn't really be surprising.

"Just relax, Mine. I'll make you feel good." Tatsumi assured her, leaning in to kiss her cheek before he went down to her neck and started peppering it with short but sweet butterfly kisses, making Mine tilt her back to give Tatsumi better access to her skin. His hands squeezed her butt cheeks again, and as expected, Mine moaned a bit loud this time, which allowed the young man to use his tongue and start licking her neck from the middle all the way down to the base of her throat.

Mine's arousal grew even more at what he just did as the girl tightly gripped his brown locks in her hands. He could literally feel her wetness in her panties and it was a sign that she was indeed loving this. "Tatsumi… I… I feel weak…" she groaned out, and Tatsumi decided to stop teasing her for now. He finished his actions on her neck by sucking on her skin gently before he started to crouch down so that he was eye-level with her dripping nether regions. He smirked slightly when he noticed her own juices flowing down her thighs, meaning his actions were effective as hell.

"Mine, I'm gonna take it off. Is that fine with you?" he asked, looking up. Mine, her brain being clouded with lust and desire for the man in front of her, found herself nodding with a small blush on her cheeks. Tatsumi smiled in return, kissing her soft stomach gently that caused the girl hum happily, before he turned his attention to her crotch. With his hands still on her butt, he pulled them out slightly, only enough for his palm to reach the hem of the fabric. He moved his hands to either side of her pink panties, before pulling it down with one strong pull, enough for it to reach the back of her knees. He pulled it down again, and it was able to reach her feet. Mine then decided to help Tatsumi by stepping out of her undergarment, allowing him to fully take it off before throwing it away. He turned her attention back to the pinkette, only for Mine's glistening pussy to be put on display in front of him.

"D-D-D-Don't stare too much, idiot!" she squeaked out, turning around slightly as some of her tsundereness returned when she noticed his hungry gaze. She didn't really notice it, but her nipples were already hard underneath the lacy bra that she was wearing, greatly turned on with his ministrations on her body. "T-This is really… e-e-em-embarrassing, y-y-you know!"

Tatsumi chuckled slightly and playfully shook his head. "Sorry… you just look so cute that I can't help myself…" he muttered, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Hmph…" she huffed, scowling a bit as she crossed her arms over her chest. "What does he think he's — A-Ahhh… Tatsummiiii…" she groaned out again, moaning continuously when he started to kiss and suck on her clitoris alternately, causing her to start shifting uncontrollably in her place, the pleasure she was feeling electrifying her every neuron and setting her blood on fire. To keep her steady, his hands held her hips gently, squeezing her soft skin and further enhanced what she was already feeling under his tongue. Her breathing becoming more and more short than usual, Tatsumi was then caught off guard when Mine suddenly pushed her hips towards his face, allowing him to fully be in contact with her nether regions. "Ohh! This feels… amazing…" she breathed out, closing her eyes for maximum stimulation and so she could let more of these newfound feelings inside her, finding them to be addicting. "Aahhh! Tatsumi!" she mewled out, feeling his mouth take in more of her clit, further making this more enjoyable and pleasurable than earlier for the pinkette.

" _Woah, she's enjoying this too much! She might get addicted to sex because of this…"_ he thought, his eyes widening slightly at her sudden move as he braced himself not to be too aggressive with her. His tongue continued to play and tease her clit, and he could tell that Mine was literally drooling because he could feel her spit on his own head. He didn't care one bit though, focusing himself in kissing and licking her clit before he got an idea.

His hands went behind Mine and immediately found her butt again, and he wasted no time in playing with it again, just to ensure that the pinkette was having the time of her life while he was around. Squeezing both of her cheeks in his hands, Mine tightly shut her eyes and grabbed Tatsumi's locks tightly in her grasp, before pulling him towards her even more. "Tatsumi! T-Tatsumi!" she moaned out, feeling hornier and hornier with every second passing by.

After a whole minute of playing and teasing her butt and clit, Tatsumi finally stopped his hands and went behind his head, removing himself from Mine's grasp. Mine felt slightly disappointed that this particular moment ended too soon, but she knew to herself that Tatsumi wouldn't leave her langing like this. " _Calm down… you have plenty of time to to show him how much you love him…"_ she thought, feeling a bit frustrated that she didn't even get to reach her climax, becoming frustrated at a time like this will do no good towards her nor anyone else. " _That… felt really good… I think… I think I want more!"_ she thought, remembering the pleasure and how she was put into ecstasy by Tatsumi himself, by his own tongue and hands no less. It got Mine to slowly rub her thighs together in a mere experiment, and her eyes widened when she felt her own wetness flowing down her skin. " _Holy shit, was I… was I… was I that turned on? Wow, I never really expected that… ah, who cares? I just want to feel it again!"_

While she was hoping to feel the same thing from him again, Tatsumi took this opportunity to stand back up to his feet and quickly move in to kiss Mine on the lips. Unlike all of their earlier kisses, this one was nothing more than a peck to the lips, yet she could tell that he was hiding his feelings underneath it.

Having a feeling that he may be up to something, Mine kept her gaze on him as Tatsumi sat back on the bed, with his arms and legs spread open, as if he was inviting her. "Mine, I know you're inexperienced in this and that this is your first time… but I want you to see things for yourself and take the initiative when you're alone. Do whatever you want for now, and let your instincts take over. I trust you." he said, inviting the girl into his arms.

"O-Okay, I'll… I'll try, Tatsumi." Mine said, nodding a few times as she took a deep breath. Inside, she could feel her heart fluttering with emotion at the amount of trust and respect he had towards her, only strengthening the feelings she already had for him.

Advancing forward, Mine seized his lips again, wanting more of him. She planted herself on his lap, letting her butt and thighs rest on his clothed legs as she placed her hands on his shoulders. This kiss was passionate, both slow and seemingly long-lasting, taking her time to savor the taste of her love. Their tongues danced in sync with each other, their lips locked; Mine gladly welcomed Tatsumi's saliva inside her, with the young man doing the same for her. Tatsumi knew that he had done this with Leone and Akame so he is pretty much accustomed in doing this kind of kissing as his tongue skillfully roamed around and conquered her mouth as a whole, making Mine moan into their liplock even more.

Mine's hands went from his shoulders to being inside his shirt, rubbing his bare chest and making the brunette moan softly in their kiss. A smile graced the girl's lips, knowing that she achieved what she wanted to happen since earlier, which was to make Tatsumi feel good in return. In return, his hands went around her neck, her back and butt, rubbing and feeling every part of her small body. Wanting to feel more of Tatsumi, Mine tried grinding her body against his, but she couldn't get anything due to his shirt and pink bra. To solve her little problem, she willingly broke the kiss, allowing them to breathe back air into their senses. Both assassins looked at each other in the eyes, their orbs shining with a strong sense of longing and want for one another.

"Tatsumi…" was all that she could say out of her lust, giving in easily to her deepest desires. From her position, her legs wrapped around his waist and she pushed herself closer to him. His arousal increasing because of how cute and adorable Mine looked, Tatsumi's hands went behind her and attempted to take off her pink bra. However, Mine gently pushed his hands away, looking into his eyes with passionate love and smiled cutely.

"Let me do it for you, Tatsumi." she whispered, proceeding to slowly let down her straps first, before reaching behind her to unclip her bra. She removed the pink article off her and nonchalantly threw it away, leaving her completely naked in front of him.

Tatsumi's emerald eyes scanned the sight of a lovely girl in front of him and he looked at her every detail. Mine's skin glowed with the light of the moon seeping through the window and towards her, causing Tatsumi to see her as both beautiful and cute at the same time. Her breasts were not that large as her other two comrades, but it's like what Tatsumi already told her.

It's what made Mine, Mine.

She wouldn't want him to change his opinion on her.

Looking at her face, even though she had no more clothes on and though her cheeks were burning red, Mine could only smile brightly at him. Her eyes shined brightly against the moonlight, and Tatsumi was speechless at the sight of her. " _I'm an idiot for not noticing how beautiful Mine really is…"_ he berated himself, gulping slightly, before he noticed how embarrassed she must be in being the only one naked between them.

Quickly snapping into his senses, Tatsumi tried to take his shirt off but was stopped by Mine's hands. "Please let me do it…" she said with a sweet smile, and he just nodded in response. Mine carefully lifted his shirt off and dropped it down on the floor to her right side. Mine blushed upon seeing his naked chest, still in perfect shape and look because of his daily workout routine coupled with his training while he was still a kid. Although she had seen him shirtless many times ever since they met, she was in a different situation right now and she couldn't help but feel a bit nervous because for this night, Tatsumi would be hers.

Tatsumi chuckled at her cute reaction as his right hand went to her left breast and squeezed it gently. Mine gasped in response and felt her nipple being squeezed and rolled all over by his hand and thumb. He took advantage of the situation by pulling the girl back towards him with his other arm, slipping his tongue inside her mouth and explored her innards thoroughly. Tatsumi closed his eyes as his hand massaged her boob, making Mine moan into his mouth, unable to return his kiss because she felt too overwhelmed. However, she did manage to move her left hand towards his from behind her, moving it towards her other breast, and making her moan even louder than before.

Tatsumi immediately complied and separated from her mouth, a long trail of saliva keeping their lips connected together. Fully giving in to his lustful side, he looked at her like a feral animal, before lunging in and taking her breast into his mouth, licking and sucking on her tit like what he always does with Akame and Leone. Mine screamed loudly as she threw her head back and hugged him even tighter, pushing their bare torsos against one another and causing tingles to be sent to the pinkette's every nerve, feeling as if she was just electrified by something. Feeling that she wanted more and because her _boyfriend_ told her to follow her instincts, she hugged Tatsumi's head, encouraging him to do it more as she pushed her chest towards him. Mine just loved the intense pleasing feeling that Tatsumi was giving her, as it made her feel like a princess, and he was the prince.

"Ahh! Tatsumi! Tatsumi! Ahh! Hah!" Sweat started to form on both their bodies and Mine started moaning louder than before that her voice could be heard outside as Tatsumi began attacking her right nipple with his hungry sucking. "Tatsumi, that — Ahh! Ohh… it… feels… good… hahh…" Mine felt like Tatsumi just sent her to heaven, the pleasure surging through her whole body and setting her on fire. Having enough, he switched to her other breast and began to play with it with his mouth too, this time flicking her hard nipple with the tip of his tongue, and Mine yelped as a result. Tatsumi could feel her arousal down in her nether regions, and her juices were flowing down onto his own shorts, turning him on even further.

Taking in her nipple between his lips and basically kissing the hard nub, his other hand pinched the other one, pulling on it gently so that he wouldn't hurt her. "P-Please, do it harder Tatsumi!" Mine said with her voice high, and causing Tatsumi to suddenly stop in his ministrations.

"A-Are you sure, Mine? I don't want to hurt you." he asked, looking up at the pink-haired sniper.

"I am not weak, I can take it!" she quickly retorted, a tick mark appearing on her head before she pulled him back to her breasts, desperate for more of his touch. Not wanting to upset the girl, he pulled on her nipple harder and opened his mouth wide so he could take in more of her right breast. "AHH! OH GOD! FUCK!" she moaned loudly, throwing her head back and letting pure ecstasy flow through her body. His hand groped her entire breast, squeezing it in his grasp a few times and eventually ended his lip-play by biting her nipple gently, careful not to hurt her too much.

Mine was left as a moaning mess the moment Tatsumi finally separated from her chest, licking his way up to her throat. The pinkette's breathing became erratic and short as a result, before tilting her head back again when he lunged towards her neck to kiss and breathe in her sweet scent while his left hand slowly caressed her right nipple, making sure that she was really okay. Partly though, because a couple of hickeys could be clearly seen on her chest, but luckily it was only her chest and not somewhere worse, like her neck. Mine bit her bottom lip to keep herself from moaning any further as he held her by her hip firmly to keep her in place. From there, his hand made its way down to her butt again, caressing and feeling her cheek in his grasp. "AGGHHH!" she screamed loudly, feeling herself getting weak again when he attacked her sensitive spot. His other hand followed soon after, and the two assassins were back to the same exact position they were in earlier. "K-KYAAA!" she yelled out after she felt him slap her butt softly. It didn't hurt much, and the stinging sensation actually set her blood and veins burning like a lit candle, causing her to feel hot and bothered by it. "W-What did you just do?"

"You said you weren't weak and you wanted more, and I just followed what you said." he told her, and the girl blushed as a result. "Did it hurt too much? Just say the word and I won't do it again."

"N-No! I can take it!" she said with a small smirk, looking a bit defiant. "Heh, why would I get hurt anyway? I'll show you that why you shouldn't underestimate me, even in sex!" Having enough of all his solo work, Mine removed his hands from her skin, pushed him away and pinned him down on the bed afterwards. "It's my turn now, Tatsumi." she said with a small smirk, hovering just above him. Although surprised with her sudden move, Tatsumi still managed to keep himself propped up on his elbows, looking at the hungry and lustful female on top of him. Hungry for more and showing what she wanted at the same time, she dove down to his neck and started kissing it all over, being the one who was in control over the whole situation now. Affected by his actions greatly but in a positive way, Mine became a bit bolder as she went deeper, kissing and to Tatsumi's surprise, licking his chest.

"Whoa Mine, what's up with you? You don't need to rush it, really…" he told her, only for the pink-haired sniper to wink seductively at him. His eyes widened at that, because he never expected her to act like that towards him. "Mine… you… you look…" he tried to breathe out, but then he felt her hands pull down his boxers along with his underwear, revealing his awaiting hardness underneath. Mine's eyes widened slowly at the size of his appendage, feeling herself getting more aroused just from the mere sight of it. Gulping slightly, she slowly reached out and touched it, sending an electric shock throughout Tatsumi's body, feeling something get triggered inside of him.

Becoming in touch with his aggressive side, Tatsumi flipped them around so that he would be on top, straddling her hips. His hands once again went to her breasts, with Mine writhing and moaning in pleasure just under him. Her plan to please Tatsumi once again failed because she was too overwhelmed with the pleasurable sensation she was feeling, but that didnt mean she didn't like it. "Fuck! Tatsumi, how long are you going to tease me like this?!" she moaned out, enjoying her position nonetheless.

"When I'm satisfied in seeing you squirm and writhe around like that." he plainly replied, shrugging. Knowing that she was unable to fight back this time, his left hand latched on her left breast while his right hand went down to play with her lower regions. Mine gasped louder than ever, and to Tatsumi's surprise once again, her left hand immediately followed down to take his wrist before guiding it towards her clit, encouraging him to go further. " _I'll never be able to look at Mine in the same way ever again…"_ he thought to himself as he began his work.

"TATSUMI! Y-YOU'RE TOO GOOD AT THIS!" Mine said, trying to lift her head up to get a good view of her nether regions, which were soaking wet and continued to be like that due to his palm rubbing against her clitoris while his fingers played with her folds, teasing the pinkette about putting them in. She felt like she was in heaven right now, coupled with his other free hand fondling and massaging her right breast, before running it up and down her sides, giving her goosebumps to her very core and tripled the sensation she was already getting from his actions. Unable to take his slow actions anymore, she used her own hand to start rubbing her clit furiously and caused her to purse her lips tight to prevent screaming, which definitely surprised Tatsumi with how bold she had gotten. Earlier, she was acting shy and flustered, but now it all seemed to change.

Her toes curled as she gritted her teeth before pulling her hand back towards her, wanting to save her orgasm for the right time. Instead, she looked up at him with eyes full of longing and desire. "P-Please… stop teasing me and just fuck me now, damn it!" she pouted, glaring cutely at the brunette.

Tatsumi only smiled and kissed her on the forehead in response, as if he was telling her that everything was going to be okay. Taking a deep breath, he adjusted their position so that his hard cock was directly situated next to her dripping pussy, just outside of her folds. "So you want to be with me forever?" he asked, looking down at her.

"Of course, what makes you think I don't want to? Jeez, were you even listening to me earlier?" Mine scoffed, causing Tatsumi to start laughing because of how she looked like even though she was supposed to be angry. She was then surprised when he cupped her cheek, before Tatsumi leaned down to kiss her soft lips again, with Mine happily kissing back, feeling some of her strength returning. As their tongues intertwined and overlapped against one another, Tatsumi's hands did what they did best again, going down the pinkette's thighs and legs, gently caressing her soft skin and pinching it slightly, their sweat making it slippery for the both of them. Mine could only smile in the kiss before grabbing the sides of his face with both her hands, intensifying their makeout session.

Like rabbits screwing each other on a hot day, both assassins had gotten to the point that their arousal just needed a release, and Tatsumi wanted nothing more than to push Mine to the bed and ravage her for good. Mine, feeling nothing more than her lust for the brunette above her, spread her legs open and Tatsumi immediately got her little hint, holding his erection in his hand. "Are you sure you're ready for this, Mine? I want you to tell me what you really feel. We can wait if you're not really ready." he asked, sighing deeply.

"This is what I want Tatsumi… I want to be in the arms of the man I love when I wake up… and it's your fault that I'm so damn horny right now, so take responsibility." She then gave him a pleading look." Don't leave me like this, Tatsumi. I _want_ you." Mine pleaded. It was quite amazing how she can transition from her short-tempered tsundere self to her kind and caring side all in the span of a few seconds.

"Alright, then… this will hurt a but, I'll make sure that you feel good, Mine. I want you to be happy, after all." Tatsumi can only nod and smile at her, sounding a little serious as his self-insecurity finally gave in and responded to what she wanted.

Tatsumi prepared himself, positioning his cock just outside her pussy lips as his legs were on either side of his body. He took a deep breath before slowly pushing inside, and causing Mine to gasp loudly in surprise at his intrusion, her eyes widening in shock. Tatsumi gritted his teeth and continued to push forward until he reached her hymen. Mine felt an immense pain in her and she cried out from the painful stinging sensation, but she knew that she would have to endure this. Pausing for a few seconds, he then pulled out slowly until only the tip of his cock was left, before slamming it back home with one big push, destroying her hymen and taking her virginity in the process.

Tatsumi groaned as he took a few deep breaths. Despite the fact that he had already taken Leone and Akame's virginities, he still wasn't used to this tight sensation and he always found it a little difficult to move around, and Mine was far tighter than the two of them. But even so, Tatsumi was more concerned for the pinkette than himself, because Mine was tightly shutting her eyes to possibly prevent her tears from falling. "Hey Mine, you ok?" Tatsumi asked, cupping her cheek.

"No… I'm fine. I can take this, Tatsumi. Don't worry about it." Mine answered with a smile, despite the obvious pain she was feeling. He could also point out a lone tear falling out of left eye, and Tatsumi knew that he had to fix this before it could affect her in any way.

Doing his best to help comfort her, Tatsumi leaned down and captured her lips into another liplock while his hands made their way to her breasts. Mine moaned as Tatsumi slipped his tongue into her mouth and started to dominate her mouth by playing with her own tongue over and over, with his hands on her breasts to fondle them gently. This particular combination was able to distract the pinkette and take her mind off the pain she was supposed to be feeling right now. After a few moments, Mine didn't even feel the pain anymore, which got her to start kissing him back in response. Her hands went to his back, feeling his entire skin and causing the brunette to let out a low moan of his own while their lips were still together.

Their actions towards each other were enough for Mine to feel the pain dissipate and completely disappear from within her nether regions. "I-I'm ok now, Tatsumi… it doesn't hurt anymore." Mine breathed lightly, pulling away from their liplock and looking into his eyes, feeling the pain turn into waves of pleasure.

"You sure?" he asked with his eyebrows furrowed; Tatsumi could push on ahead and make love to her straight away like what he'd done a few times before, but Mine was far different from Leone and Akame.

"Yes, now fuck me already! God, I swear I'm losing my patience here…" Mine said, smacking him on the shoulder lightly that caused him to chuckle.

Since he noticed that she really wanted him, he couldn't hold himself back any longer. "Alright, Mine. Get ready…" There was no turning back at this point, but the thought of backing off didn't even come in their minds.

He started to move his hips into her, driving his erection in and out of her at a slow pace. Mine moaned continuously and shut her eyes tightly, feeling that it was too much. Her toes curled as her right hand went from his back to the bedsheets, clutching a handful of it in her grasp. The pain earlier was completely forgotten and all she could feel was the pleasure of having Tatsumi inside her. "Oh God! This… This feels way too good!" she cried out as she felt him continue his work.

Tatsumi felt that familiar, pleasurable sensation of her walls and he couldn't stop himself from feeling it. It felt so good being inside Mine, even though she was tight as hell. " _I'll make sure to loosen her up!"_ he thought with a grin, holding the girl's hips with both his hands as he picked up speed and momentum, and causing Mine's moans to become louder than before that it's possible they could be heard outside. Mine's walls were clamping down on him and hindered his ability to go at his full speed, but he wasn't the type to give up that easily.

Her pussy was beginning to give way for his cock to enter easily, and the pleasure it granted her built up more and more, a feeling that she had never felt before in her life. All she knew at the moment was that she wanted more of him and she never wanted it to end, prompting her to wrap her legs around his waist and pull him closer. "Tatsumi, ahh! Do it faster! Ohh!" she moaned out, her mouth hanging open with drool trailing down her mouth.

"Shit! Mine, you're so tight!" Tatsumi's hands left her hips as they made their way to the back of her knees, slightly lifting the pinkette's body off the bed so he could reach deeper inside her pussy. Mine's eyes snapped open at the new position she was in, feeling Tatsumi's cock piston and out of her warm snatch, reaching a new point inside her with every thrust. Because of her desire to feel more of him, Mine held on to his shoulders as he pumped inside her, feeling her breasts rub against his chest and it felt insanely good for the two of them. "Fuck! Mine, you feel so good! I don't think I can stop!" he moaned out, grinding his body against the pinkette's more ferociously. Mine embraced him dearly in response, pushing her upper body up to press herself against him more while trying to meet his thrusts with her own hips.

After the two of them started moving in perfect harmony Tatsumi's right hand pushed her arm off his shoulder, before intertwining it with Mine's left hand, clasping it tightly. It's like he was telling her that he was with her throughout all of this, and that he wasn't going anywhere. Mine began crying out her moans of pleasure, and Tatsumi just loved all the sounds that she made; he then thought of hearing every moan, scream and cry of pure pleasure from Akame, Leone, and now Mine. It was all part of something that he'll plan on later.

Tatsumi thrusted in her even faster, now finding her g-spot and managing to hit it every now and then. Mine loved this intense feeling inside her, and she figured that this might be something that she could get addicted to. "Fuck me harder, Tatsumi! Ohh… hah! Ahh! Ravage me all over! Tatsumi! Ahh! It… feels… so good! Do it harder! Ohh!" she mindlessly yelled out in total bliss and ecstasy.

"Your damn pussy's so tight, but it feels so good Mine!" He pushed his entire length inside her throbbing pussy over and over as his pelvis slammed into her hips, the sound of slapping skin filling the entire room and further driving the two assassins into arousal. Tatsumi's mouth did nothing but let out low moans and grunts, feeling the pleasure of Mine's tight walls clamping down into his manhood even more. The noises that they made the room look like there was some kind of hungry animal munching on its prey.

A few minutes eventually, and both started to feel a new sensation building inside them; a release was inevitable now, and Mine could feel it coming fast. "Tatsumi, fuck me more! Make my mind go numb!" Mine tried her best to get him to reach deeper, her feet doing their best to pull him towards her, while Tatsumi pushed his hips harder and faster, going at his full speed.

"It's so hot inside! I don't think I can hold on any longer!" he cried out. Their moans became erratic and hungry as they were nearing their climax. With one final thrust into her womanhood, he was able to trigger their orgasms as they rode out their release together.

"OH, TATSUMMMMIIIIII!"

"MIIIIIINNNNNEEE!"

Tatsumi kept his head low and gritted his teeth as his cock released load after load into the pinkette's waiting pussy. Mine threw her head back and her eyes snapped open, her mouth hanging open as she went through her first climax. Her arms were feeling numb and helpless beside her head and her legs were losing their strength at his waist. Tatsumi leaned down towards her as quickly as possible, her breasts squashing against his chest before he pressed his lips towards hers. He deepened the kiss as much as he could to keep himself from screaming, their drool mixing together in the process and got spilled on her mouth and chin, causing Mine to moan softly at his hot saliva on her skin. Once he felt his cock sprayed her inner vaginal walls with his sperm for the final time, Tatsumi parted from their kiss and panted in slight exhaustion.

At the same time, the pink-haired sniper opened her eyes and their gazes met with a single glance. "How was the feeling of your first time, Mine?" he asked, looking down at her as he pulled out his erection from her wet pussy and causing his warm cum to start dripping out of her.

Moaning slightly in disappointment, she still managed to smile through it all. "It was wonderful, Tatsumi. It felt so good… that I want more. Let's do it again… please?" she asked with a pleading look, and Tatsumi didn't even hesitate to nod his head. Out of happiness, she pulled him down for a quick kiss and as soon as they separated from each other, they looked into each others' eyes once again before Mine gave him a sharp look. "But don't you dare hold back on me, Tatsumi! I am _not_ a weak girl and I can take whatever you dish out on me!" she complained, surprising the brunette in the process. "Don't go easy on me just because it's my first time… it doesn't even hurt anymore…"

All of a sudden, Tatsumi thought of an idea to give her what she wanted. "I think I can do that." he smirked, flipping her around on her stomach, causing Mine to yelp in surprise.

As she tried to prop herself up on her elbows, she felt her hips being held by Tatsumi as he brought her butt up, causing it to stick out into the air in a doggystyle position. Mine blushed and gulped slightly, suddenly feeling a wave of nervousness hit her.

Before she could think about anything else though, a hard smack to her bottom cut her out of her thoughts and immediately brought her back to reality. "Iya!" she cried out in surprise before turning her head to the side. "T-Tatsumi!" She then saw him blankly staring at her nether regions , causing her to blush furiously before she felt something touch her butthole. "W-W-Wh-What are you d-doing?!" she asked in suprirse.

"Well, since your main hole's already been claimed, I thought of having your other one too, since you wanted more." he said, turning to look at her. "But if you don't want to, just say the word and I'll stop. We can call this a night if you want."

Feeling that her pride was being damaged, Mine put on a stern look before shaking her head furiously. "No, don't you dare! This won't be over until I say so! Do your worst idiot, I can take it!" she said with a fierce glare directed towards him. Although she was trying to be defiant, she couldn't help but feel nervous about what he was going to do with her other opening, and he was literally _staring_ at it.

How she wished she could close her legs right now.

"Alright, Mine… I'll still try to make this more pleasurable for you, though." he told her as he leaned forward and pressed his face to her lower regions, his tongue immediately finding her butthole. Mine cried out in surprise as her eyes widened and her mouth hung open when he started licking her back door, trying to make it easier for him to slide in later on. "You have a weird taste, but I like it."

"Stupid — Ahh! AHH!" she tried to berate him, but only fell on deaf ears when he slowly pushed his tongue inside, and causing her to collapse on her elbows. Luckily, Mine still managed to make her way back up on all fours, only to be greeted by the sight of Tatsumi positioning his cock outside her ass.

" _Holy shit, he's serious isn't he?"_ she asked herself in slight fear, before Tatsumi pushed his cock in, making her cry out in both pain and pleasure. The feeling of having her ass stretched was unbearable, and Tatsumi leaned forward to kiss her neck to try and relieve her of it.

With a tear in her eye, Mine's mouth opened wide as more of her lover's cock disappear into her butt. "AHH! M-MY BUTT! I-IT HURTS!" she screamed loudly, throwing her head back before she felt Tatsumi reach forward and grope her breasts, making her slowly forget about the pain she was supposed to be feeling. "Ah, Tatsumi…" she moaned out through half-lidded eyes, tilting her head slightly when he started kissing the side of her neck softly. While she was being distracted with his new actions, the brunette kept pushing more of his manhood into her asshole, only being hindered by her tight walls from the inside. "AHH! SO… DEEP!" she cried out again upon feeling his whole cock being plunged inside her.

"Wow… your ass is even tighter than your pussy, Mine! It's hard to move, but it feels so good!" Grabbing her hips firmly, he pulled out his cock until it was halfway, before he pushed it back in like in a pattern. Like what he did to her other hole, he began pumping in and out of her ass at a steady pace, slowly overcoming her tight walls; the feeling of her muscles clenching down on his member was almost unbelievable, but that didn't mean he couldn't handle it. "Oh, fuck! You just became tighter than before!"

"S-Stop saying things like that!" she told him sharply, before she felt another slap to her rear end, shutting her up in her place and causing her to let out another yelp of surprise. The pain was there, yet the pleasure she could feel was underlying beneath it. The stinging sensation sent tingles all over her body, and it drove her mad. "Jeez, can't you be a little more gentle?! What is it with you slapping my butt all the time?!" she complained, a tick mark appearing on her head as she turned to look towards him.

"But I thought you said not to hold back?" Tatsumi answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and Mine could only stare at him in shock because he was right.

However, she was never going to admit it.

"That doesn't matter! Stop slapping my — KYAAA!" she tried to say, only to be cut off with another spank to her cheek. "Damn it, what did I just say?!" she growled, scowling at the brunette behind her, who only had a serious look on his face. Realizing that he might be thinking about something, she tried to ask him, only to be surprised when he suddenly went faster with his thrusts, further stretching out her ass and making it easier for him to move inside her. "FUCK!" she cursed, feeling overwhelmed with the intense and pleasurable feeling of having Tatsumi's cock inside her butt that she had to grip the bedsheets in her hand tightly.

"I just can't get enough of you, Mine! I might be addicted to your body!" he said through gritted teeth, withdrawing his hand back before slapping her butt once again, and he could see her ass starting to glow a faint red not only because of his slaps, but also because of his hips repeatedly slamming against her bottom.

"Didn't I tell you not to do that again?! I swear, if I'm not able to walk tomorrow, I'm blaming it on you!" she huffed, turning away from him with a blush on her face.

"But you liked it, didn't you?" he simply said in response, and causing Mine's eyes to widen slowly. All she had gotten from him slapping her again and again was becoming aroused than before and her inner wall's becoming even tighter than earlier. In fact, she never noticed herself becoming aroused until the fact that she was close to having another climax, which was right now.

"T-Tatsumi, it's coming again! I can feel it! I'm… I'm close!" she breathed out, forgetting all about her little outburst earlier as she planted her face on the bed, her arms too weak to even support her and causing her butt to stick higher into the air.

"I'm close too! Let's do this together, Mine!" he said, grabbing the pinkette's arm and pulling her up once again, before he leaned close to kiss her on the lips as he continued to thrust in and out of her rectum at a fast pace, all while their leftover cum from her pussy slowly dripped down her thighs. His other hand sneaked towards her breast and began playing with it, completely overwhelming Mine with everything that he threw at her. No matter how many times he had touched her orbs, he would never get tired of how amazing and good she felt.

" _God, she looks so beautiful…"_ he thought to himself, getting a good look at Mine's near-tired figure, glistening with sweat and her eyes half-lidded in exhaustion.

"Faster! Harder! Do it inside me, Tatsumi!" she cried out, losing herself completely to the sensation she felt and wanting nothing but Tatsumi giving her more of it. The minutes passed, and her own juices could be seen flowing down her thighs. Her own drool rolled down the side of her face as she closed her eyes tightly, finally reaching that point where she couldn't take it anymore.

"Here it comes, Mine!"

"TATSUUUMMIIIII!"

With his own scream as he threw his head back, Mine's anal passage clenched violently around his member, finally causing his throbbing cock to explode inside her ass. Mine threw her head back as well, feeling her own climax get milked out of her and sprayed onto Tatsumi's pelvis continuously. Another big load of his hot cum burst out from his erection and painted everything inside her butt in white, completely drying him up and using everything he had to give.

As they felt his cum sloshing in her ass after a few more seconds, Tatsumi panted in exhaustion as he noticed Mine slowly turning her head to look at him. She had an exhausted look as well, and her face looked erotic, with her mouth hanging slightly open and her tongue just outside her lips. The moment he let go of her arm though, Mine immediately collapsed on the bed and Tatsumi panicked, quickly getting a move to fix her up. "Damn it, I need to move quickly! I should've stopped after the first round!" he cursed to himself.

 _ **[*Super Sexy Lemon End*]**_

* * *

Although he had trouble at first, Tatsumi managed to clean up the most of the mess that they made in the bed, before gently carrying a sleeping Mine towards it and laying her down. She was wearing a pair of pink pajamas, something that he managed to quickly snatch from her room, but she had no underwear underneath her clothes.

While she was peacefully sleeping, he quickly put on some clothes and went back to closely observing Mine on the bed. " _She looks so peaceful while like that…"_ he said to himself before he turned away and headed for the door to have a glass of water to drink, only to be stopped by something holding his hand back. Tatsumi turned his head to see Mine with one eye open, imploring him to join her on the bed to sleep with one tug on his arm.

Tatsumi shrugged and sighed before walking back towards the bed, laying down beside Mine. He could have a glass of water tomorrow, because the pinkette was all that he could think about right now. Instantly though, as soon as he was on the bed, Mine latched onto him like a cat, wrapping her arms and legs around his body as she laid herself on top of him.

"Thank you for letting me be one of your lovers, Tatsumi…" she said, nuzzling into his chest. "This seems weird at first, but I'd rather share you than not be with you at all. I love you…" she declared, planting a quick kiss to his cheek.

He chuckled slightly and rubbed her back softly in response. "Mine, I know this sounds crazy but I think I do love you. The way I looked at you while we were having sex… it's the same way that I look at Akame and Leone. I don't know, but don't worry, I'll be wary of my own feelings though! I'll be able to tell the time when I really do love you!"

Mine shrugged and smiled slightly. "I don't really care when that happens. All that matters is that I'm with you forever, Tatsumi. But I will be really glad and happy once that time comes."

"Thanks. You're all dear to me, you know? I treat you all as comrades and yet I also love all of you, and I want to show you that that will never change, even every night if that's what it takes!"

Getting late into the night, Mine embraced him more and Tatsumi wrapped his arms around her protectively as they prepared to sleep. The pinkette snuggled closely to him in a loving manner, her left hand clasping his right hand as she closed her eyes. "Good night, Tatsumi…" Mine softly said to her lover.

"Good night, Mine." Tatsumi replied, smiling as he closed his eyes. Both were tired from their absolute fun and had fallen into slumber in just a few minutes. Mine left a smile on her lips before drifting to sleep, happy that she had confessed her feelings, got them returned, made love to the person she loved the most in the world, and losing her virginity to him.

This was one special night that they would never forget.

 **(Same Time: Just Outside Night Raid's Hidden Base)**

"Haha, they worked so hard to cover their scent and footprints… I'll praise them for that stylish effort…" Stylish said with a smirk, adjusting his glasses with a finger. "But you cannot completely erase the original scent. Once I put my man with surgically-enhanced olfactory sense on the field…"

"Master Stylish, the scent continues this way." One of Stylish's creations, with a massive pointed nose, said as he pointed forward to the path ahead.

"Thank you, Nose." Stylish said, resting his head on his hand as his smirk grew. "For your first time in the field, your abilities are exceeding my expectations. Keep it up and don't fail."

"There is an array of threads up ahead. It's not advisable to attack." Another creation said with grotesque enlarged eyes as his his eyes darted all around the place. "I will find a clear path for all of us to go through."

"Good job, Eyes. Your vision is fitting only for your name."

"I can also faintly hear people speaking up ahead. They must be close." The final creation said, a woman with massive bat-like ears, as she leaned her ear towards the sound she could hear.

"Hah, I thought there was something suspicious about that kid… and I was right." Stylish said with a small smirk on his face. "His abilities in a fight and the way he adapted to almost any situation he was in is far too great for a simple fighter of the capital." Just then, Stylish's eyes caught a strange formation carved within a nearby cliffside. Snapping his fingers, the doctor pointed towards the cliff with a mad grin. "Bingo. A queen's hunch is never wrong. It's a long way from Famo, but… Night Raid's base… has been found!"

* * *

 _ **Well, Mine did get what she deserved! I fulfilled my promise in the first chapters, hahahaha! How was her lemon? Did you guys enjoy it?**_

 _ **Looks like some of you are requesting for that threesome between Akame, Tatsumi, and Leone… but I'm not convinced. Three more reviews regarding it BUT NOT THE SAME PEOPLE.**_

 _ **Stylish has found the base, and you guys know what this means… Susanoo and Chelsea are about to make their debut! Stay tuned to find out how events will transpire!**_

 _ **Harem (Final): Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **If you want to catch up with me and your other favorite writers, join our Discord server:**_

[discord . gg / uDxVym8]

 _ **To those who want to join our Akame ga kill server…**_

[discord. gg / VX6sVkq]

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	23. Kill the Doctor

_**It's so damn hard to be an admin, that's why I took so long… I'm now an admin of an AGK Roleplaying server, guys! Roleplaying takes some time off my writing time, but it's worth it! I'm actually having fun roleplaying with my friends in the server! If you ever want to join, refer to the links at the bottom of this chapter.**_

"Normal Talking"

" _Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters…**_

* * *

 **(Night Raid's Hidden Base; Leone's Bedroom)**

With a mischievous smile on her face, Leone shot out of bed and quickly put on some clothes; another day had passed, and she was ready for another recon mission in the capital, but first she had to check a certain _someone_ first.

" _Hehe, I can't wait to slip into bed with Tatsumi… since he wakes up totally early in the morning, I'll be able to have some fun with him before my recon trip… well, time to go!"_ she thought to herself as she quickly made her way towards Tatsumi's bedroom, excited for some fun with her favorite person in the world. Last night, both her and Akame were fighting over who gets to spend time with Tatsumi but since they weren't able to work out a solution, the brunette chose to sleep alone rather than pick one of them.

Giggling slightly, she skipped over towards the door to his bedroom and slowly opened it, wanting to give him a surprise. "Oh, Tatsumi…" she cooed, slipping inside the room carefully. She was quite ready to lunge at him with open arms until she realized that he wasn't up yet, as he was still lying on the bed with someone lying on top of him.

" _Hello, who's this?"_ she asked herself in curiosity, walking over towards the bed but careful enough so that she wouldn't make any sound. Her eyes then widened upon noticing that it was Mine who sleeping on top of Tatsumi, and she was dressed in her pajamas while the brunette below her was shirtless. " _HOLY SHIT! Who would've known?!"_ A large grin then appeared on her face that she to cover her mouth in order to stifle her laugh. " _Wait a second… something's not right…"_ Taking a quick look at her surroundings, Leone began to sniff the air, taking in its weird but _arousing_ stench.

"Oh my God…" she breathed out, unable to stop herself from speaking as she put each puzzle piece together. Leone began laughing into her hand, muffling her voice as she struggled to keep herself from rolling over on the floor. " _So these two had some fun last night, huh? I knew that Mine somehow liked him in a way, but I wasn't expecting this to be too soon! Hmm, I wonder if Tatsumi shooed me and Akame out of his room on purpose just to hang out with Mine… and why didn't he tell me about this sooner?"_ Planting her hands on her hips, she began thinking why her lover had to hide this secret from her, before she shrugged her shoulders and chuckled slightly.

" _Never mind, I'll just talk to him about it later… oh, I can't wait to tease Mine about this! Ha, this is gonna be so fun! That girl always gets embarrassed easily that she'll faint when I tell her that I saw her and Tatsumi together!"_ she told herself, making her way outside the room.

Running her fingers through her disheveled hair, Leone walked down the dark and empty hallway. "Dang, I guess everyone else is still asleep too… well, I better start getting ready to go to the capital later if I want to be able to get home early."

With that, Leone quickly made her way down to the outdoor bath, wiping her eyes as she walked up to the steaming water. "Damn, I'm still pretty sleepy." Leone yawned as she kneeled down at the edge of the bath and was prepared to splash some hot water on her face to fully wake herself up. But then, she was surprised to see something hazy below the water's surface. Curiosity getting the best of her and unable to see clearly just yet, she leaned in closer to get a better look. Her golden eyes shot open when a sinister-looking face appeared in the water below her. Leone barely had time to gasp or react, as a small blade suddenly rocketed toward her face. With a wet thud, the blade hit its mark, and Leone fell face-first into the water.

"Haha! I did it, Master Stylish!" One of Stylish's creations said as he crawled out of the bath with a sinister grin. "Yours truly, Trooma, took one of Night Raid's members down. I shall proceed forth and continue my mission!"

 **(Back in Tatsumi's Bedroom)**

With a sudden start, Tatsumi's eyes shot open. The young assassin was breathing heavily and covered in a cold sweat. Clutching his head in pain, Tatsumi quickly let Mine roll off him to his side before he got out of bed and grabbed _**Starfall**_.

"T-Tatsumi?" Tatsumi turned around to see Mine sitting on the bed behind him with a sleepy look, rubbing her eyes as she focused her gaze on him. "What are you doing?"

"Mine, you might think I'm crazy…" Tatsumi replied, slipping on a white t-shirt and boxers. "But I just got the feeling that one of our comrades might be in trouble."

The girl's eyes widened. "W-What? In trouble?" Mine sputtered out, looking down slowly before she shook her head furiously. "Wait, how are you sure? Maybe it was just some kind of weird dream that you had?"

"I know that… I may be wrong and plainly overreacting right now." Tatsumi said, slipping on a pair of pants and his jacket. "But that doesn't stop me from making sure that nothing's wrong and our friends are safe."

An image of Bulat and Sheele appeared in her mind, remembering the tragic day that Night Raid lost two of its members. "Y-You're right, Tatsumi… we have to make sure they're okay!" Mine said, jumping out of the bed as she stood by the edge with a determined expression.

"Heh, just the reaction I expected from you, Mine…" Tatsumi said, smirking as he opened the doorway. "I'll head right, and you head left. But make sure you get back to your room, okay? You'll need to change and get _**Pumpkin**_ if you're gonna go out and patrol. Can't have somebody else peeking on you now that you're my girlfriend. I'll see you later!" he said with a grin before he left the room and ran off.

Mine was left blushing in her place as she mentally slapped herself to snap out of her trance. "I-Idiot, saying things like that…" she huffed, about to run out of the room when her legs suddenly felt weak. In fact, as soon as she took a few steps forward, she then lost her strength in her legs and she face-first fell to the floor with a surprised shriek.

"Urgh, damn that idiot…" she murmured, lifting her head off the floor with an annoyed expression as she glanced towards. "I'm blaming him that I can't walk properly right now… my butt feels like it's burning!"

* * *

 **(Same Time; Cliffs to the South of Night Raid's Base)**

"I have just received Trooma's report… he has managed to take out one of Night Raid's assassins. They are one member down." Mimi reported, which got a small smirk to appear across Stylish's face.

"Well done. Just as I'd expect from the knight's role in this clever game of chess." Stylish said, crossing his arms over his chest. "He dove, undetected right into the enemy's territory… and now!" He executed an arm signal, causing dozens of his creations to burst out of the treeline and begin making their way towards Night Raid's base. "Team Stylish! Let this glorious night begin with zest and passion for what's to come in the end!" Stylish said, a twisted smile appearing on his face as he watched his soldiers run by. "Are you all listening?! Take care not to damage the corpses and bring them back with you alive! Anyone who brings back a live specimen without any sort of damage will get to spend a lovely night with me!"

"Are you sure it's wise…" Eyes asked, putting his hands behind his head before glancing at Stylish. "With us not telling Master Esdeath about our plans?"

"Heh… Night Raid has teigus…" the doctor replied with a smirk, adjusting his glasses. "When the enemy has such superb research materials, I'd be crazy not monopolize them for myself. That is my role as a doctor…" Stylish's eyes suddenly narrowed as he glared at Night Raid's base. _"Besides, I don't want to see the Commander so worked up over that little punk… I'll find Tatsumi somewhere in there… and play a simple little prank… and that is to punish him until he's dead…"_

"But what if Night Raid has other tricks up its sleeve? Are we going to fall back and come back another day?" Eyes asked, shrugging his shoulders.

"In the end, it doesn't matter. Even without a simple pawn, as long as we have the rook and the bishop, two of the most powerful pieces, we'll win this game somehow." Stylish's smirk only widened when he heard some heavy footsteps behind him. "Kaku… maintenance is practiced in order for that teigu, so don't ruin it."

"HAHA!" Kaku grinned sadistically as he rested the scissor-looking teigu, _**Extase**_ , on his shoulder. "I'll show you I have the brains and brawn to wield this thing! This is child's play!"

"Toby!" Stylish exclaimed, turning to face another one of his creations, who was sitting on a tree stump just a few feet away. "You'll be taking on their most dangerous player. Can I trust you that you handle it?"

"I'm feeling great. I don't think I can lose to anyone today, and I don't feel like it either." Toby replied, adjusting the special suit that Stylish had made for him.

"Then you boys get a move on out there and do your worst." Stylish said, winking at them. "Just as we planned it!" Kaku and Toby nodded as they leapt off the cliff to join the fray. "All my warriors have infiltrated the hideout. Ah, yes… the show has finally begun and it's already exciting. AH! I'm getting chills!"

 **(Same Time: Inside Night Raid's Base)**

"Fuck me!" Lubbock exclaimed, sprinting down a seemingly endless hallway, since the wires he had spread throughout the base were going off like crazy. "Where'd all these bastards come from all of a sudden?! I totally did not expect this while I was sleeping!" Lubbock came to a skidding stop when he felt the wires closest to him started to go off. "And they're so damn close too!" Lubbock gasped in surprise when someone burst down from the ceiling behind him. "So you assholes are already inside the base, huh?"

"Enemy…" The intruder snarled in a twisted voice. "Must eliminate…" With incredible speed, the attacker rushed at Lubbock, swiping at him with razor-sharp claws.

"Too slow, buddy!" Lubbock taunted, dodging the intruder's attack with ease. With only a flex of his fingers, a series of wires wrapped tightly around the enemy's neck. The green-haired man pulled on the wires with all his strength afterwards, snapping the intruder's neck. "This is bad… I have to inform the others about this. They could be anywhere in the hideout by now…"

However, Lubbock's eyes widened when the enemy's neck suddenly snapped back into place. Before he could even react though, the intruder slashed him with its claws, striking the green-haired assassin across the chest and stomach.

 **(Same Time: Back with Stylish)**

"That's another one of Night Raid's member down." Mimi reported, a slight grin spreading across her face.

"Of course… my pawns are tough and unyielding. They might be the least powerful in the game but they are crucial to a decisive victory." Stylish said with a smirk, flipping some hair out of his eyes. "You can't treat them like normal humans." Before Stylish could gloat about his creations even more, he noticed that Mimi had suddenly gone stiff. "What's going on, Mimi?"

"It appears that…" Mimi replied, her eyes narrowing. "Our opponents can't be treated like normal humans either."

 **(Back with Lubbock)**

"Holy shit!" Lubbock yelled with a cocky grin, revealing an armor-like mesh of threads wrapped around his stomach and chest. "Threads can be used for defense too, ya idiots! And…" Lubbock's grin widened when the threads around his chest and stomach began to unravel and began to reform into a spear. "If I bundle em' up just right… I can use them like this!" With a powerful throw, the green-haired man hurled the spear of threads straight through the intruder's head, killing it instantly.

"I run a small bookstore in the capital…" The same cocky grin still plastered on his face, Lubbock casually dusted off his hands. "I've read about all sorts of ways on how to use threads in the books I sell." With a curl of his finger, the threads returned to Lubbock. "Alright, time to —" Lubbock tensed when he sensed another incoming intruder behind him. "So there's another one, huh…"

A sudden chill ran down his spine when he saw over a dozen more enemies joined with the one he had just sensed. "Shit… there's a lot of you guys." Lubbock scratched his cheek in nervousness. "I-I'm not exactly into… the whole 'group brawling thing', soooo…" Without a moment's hesitation, Lubbock turned around and sprinted in the opposite direction with a terrified look on his face. "I'm getting the fuck out of here!" Lubbock squeaked in surprise when he briefly turned around a few moments later, before he saw that the intruders were quickly gaining on him. "Shit! Shit! Shit! Why are they so damn fast?! Are they even human?!"

Before the intruders could catch up with him however, someone came leaping over the large crowd of enemies. Lubbock felt a large wave of relief wash over him when he saw Akame stop just next to him, holding _**Murasame**_ in her hand.

"This is getting out of hand… Lubbock, get behind me!" Akame exclaimed, standing defensively in front of the green-haired assassin. "I'll handle them."

"Akame!" Lubbock shouted, visibly relaxing with the presence of the red-eyed girl. "Be careful! These guys are really tough!"

"Tough, you say…" Akame muttered, unsheathing _**Murasame**_. "We'll see about that." Like an angel of death, Akame slashed her way through the mob of enemies, easily slicing off heads and limbs as she moved through all of them like a blur. Akame was done in like, five seconds, with the hallway becoming littered with mutilated bodies, and the walls were covered in a fresh coat of blood. With a flick of her wrist, the blood that had coated _**Murasame**_ was flung off. Akame then resheathed the blade, releasing a light sigh afterwards. "See? They weren't that tough after all."

"Damn…" Lubbock whistled, admiring the sheer destruction that Akame brought. "That's the shit right there! Thanks for the backup, Akame!"

"For being our enemy…" A new voice from behind them then caused Akame and Lubbock to turn around, spotting three more intruders approaching them. "Those skills were quite impressive." The one in the middle, who looked like the leader of the three newcomers, was a tall lean man with dark hair and glasses. He was flanked on both sides by two hulking men.

"Ah great, another new asshole to deal with!" Lubbock complained, huffing in annoyance.

 _"He looks strong…"_ Akame thought, her eyes narrowing as she locked gazes with the pack's leader. Unconsciously Akame's hands began to drift towards _**Murasame's**_ hilt.

"My name is Toby…" The leader said as he rushed towards Akame, a blade extending from his wrist. "It has always been my dream to fight you in one-on-one combat, Miss Akame." Leaping into the air, another blade sprang from Toby's foot.

Reacting quickly, Akame quickly ducked underneath Toby's attack. Before Toby could even land, Akame unsheathed _**Murasame**_ and slashed him across the back. However, Akame's eyes narrowed when she didn't feel her blade cut through flesh.

 _"That felt like…"_ Akame thought, turning to face Toby, who now had a smirk on his face. _"Unlike all the others before, his entire body is like a machine!"_

"Akame! Hold on!" Lubbock exclaimed, running towards the red-eyed assassin. However, he was stopped when the two large men escorting Toby stepped in front of him. _"Damn it, I want to help Akame… "_ Lubbock gritted his teeth in irritation, with his wires springing to life around him. "But these bastards… are all in the way!"

 **(Same Time: Opposite Side of Night Raid's Base)**

"Let's do this, Koro-chan!" Seryu thought, bursting out of a wall with Koro, ready to kill some enemies at a clear a short distance from the base.

"Die in the name of justice!" she roared, charging towards a massive group of Stylish's soldiers. Koro took on another group, tearing them down with his massive jaws. Equipping two submachine guns in her hands, Seryu slaughtered any enemy coming in her path without hesitation. Seryu's bullets pierced through her enemies like punching holes on a piece of paper, quickly staining the clearing in their blood. As Seryu stopped momentarily to reload, more of Stylish's soldiers surrounded him. "So these guys are the doctor's enhanced soldiers? They're not that tough, but there are so many!"

While Seryu was thinking of what to do next, one of Stylish's soldiers began to sneak up behind her. The girl didn't notice the enemy until it was practically on top of him. Gasping in surprise, Seryu tried to aim her guns at the soldier but he was too fast for her to properly react. However, just before Stylish's soldier could attack, an arrow suddenly came out of nowhere and the soldier's head snapped back, blood spurting from its neck. Spinning around, the orange-haired girl spotted Sayo behind him with her bow and _**Spectator**_ glowing slightly on her forehead.

"Keep your head in the game, Seryu!" Sayo exclaimed, shooting arrows towards several more soldiers, each shot hitting them right between the eyes or at the neck with pinpoint accuracy. "You'll get swarmed with these fuckers if you let your guard down even for just a second!"

"Thanks for the assist, Sayo!" Seryu yelled over the raging combat, as Koro rushed over to her and started defending her from the incoming horde of enemies, while the girl killed some on her own, the two working in perfect sync.

"Looks like you finally came out!" A new, gruff voice exclaimed. All the fighting in the area seemed to halt temporarily, the two girls turning to face the source of the voice. They saw a massive man standing amongst Stylish's troops, but what caught Sayo and Seryu's eyes was the teigu that was strapped to the man's back. "Hey there, little dog girl and sniper girl. My name is Kaku, and I guess you'll be taking me on."

"That… That teigu…" Sayo breathed out, her eyes widening in both sadness and rage.

"HAHAHA!" Kaku laughed mockingly, grabbing the scissors-looking teigu off his back. "Nice ain't it? It's the _**Cutter of Creation: Extase**_. Girls, say hello to my little teigu!"

"That doesn't belong to you…" Seryu muttered, tightly balling her fists, her anger reaching its boiling point as her hair shadowed her eyes.

"What'd you say, little girl?" Kaku asked, raising a hand to his ear in a cocky way. "I didn't quite hear you there."

"She said…" Sayo said, aiming her bow at Kaku's head. "That doesn't belong to you!" Sayo shot an arrow towards Kaku, but to her shock the large man had used _**Extase**_ to block her shot. Before she could fire a follow-up shot, Stylish's soldiers began to attack her, forcing her to back off and use a sword to defend herself. "Back the fuck off!" Sayo's anger was slowly rising as she cut her way through the ever-growing group of soldiers that were slowly surrounded her. "I have to kill that son of a bitch! I won't let him dirty Sheele's teigu!"

"Let me kill this bastard, Sayo!" Seryu roared, charging towards Kaku with her guns at the ready. When Kaku blocked every single one of her bullets, the girl growled in anger.

"You may try to pierce through flesh." Kaku laughed, his muscles bulging to grotesque levels. "But I break bones." Seryu had to jump a few meters back to prevent _**Extase**_ from even grazing her. "Not a bad response, although those arms of yours won't stay with you much longer, little girl." With a twisted grin, Kaku ran his hand down _**Extase's**_ blade. "Mine is a teigu that cut through anything in the world. It ignores all type of defense."

"I thought I said… to give that back…" Seryu snarled, raising her right arm as Koro, who was back in his original form, engulfed it inside its massive jaws.

 **(Back With Stylish)**

"It's just as you predicted Stylish-sama." Mimi said, listening to the raging battles. "They're superior to _**Murasame**_. And also with Seryu… the girl appMimi to have joined the enemy and is currently fighting alongside them."

"Of course, my calculations were correct." Stylish said in cocky tone, as he adjusted his glasses. "However, I never expected that little girl to join the enemies she swore to bring down. Oh well, she's our enemy now and we're not making any exceptions. Gaining _**Hekatonkheires**_ again seems like a good enough reward for it…"

"But… we're losing a large amount of pawns." Mimi said, hearing more pawns die left and right. "I can't really tell for sure… but we'll likely suffer heavy losses at the end of this assault."

"It's quite heartbreaking really." Stylish said with a frown, resting his head on his hand but Mimi never noticed the evil smile that soon spread across Stylish's face. _"Just kidding… I can replace all my soldiers in a snap. They're all originally supposed to be convicts anyways. The best part of all this is that until they die… they're nothing more than mere playthings to me."_

 **(Back with Sayo and Seryu)**

"Koro-chan! Number one!" Seryu bellowed as she stomped on a pawn's body on the ground. "I'LL BRING YOU TO JUSTICE!" Kaku's eyes widened when Koro released Seryu's arm, a massive flail replacing her flesh as she burst through the last group of pawns, charging towards her target with a crazed look in her eyes. Swinging her flail side to side, she mowed down any enemy in her sight and finally grabbed ahold of _**Extase's**_ handle. "That belongs to Sheele, you bastard! Give it back!"

"Huh?!" Kaku muttered, as he kicked Seryu in the chest, sending the assassin sliding back. "Who the hell is that?!" Seryu punched the ground to stop herself, as she took the time to catch her breath. But by doing so, the pawns had already regrouped and quickly surrounded her. Still recovering from the previous attack, Seryu could only watch as the pawns closed in on her, with Kaku leading the pack. Koro was being kept by bay another group of pawns, which prevented him from getting to its owner.

"If you're so eager to die girl… I'll grant you your wish, and cut you into bloody ribbons!" Kaku laughed, grinning sadistically.

Off to the right, Sayo continued to fight off the pawns that had encircled her. Amidst the blood and carnage, she took a moment to use _**Spectator**_ to check if Seryu was doing okay. Her eyes widened when she saw that Seryu was completely surrounded and had no chance of fighting back. Sayo quickly took aim to fire at the pawns closest to her comrade, hoping to give her some time to retaliate. But by doing this, Sayo had allowed the pawns that were attacking her to close the gap.

Before she had a chance to fire, one of the soldiers lunged at her, with its claws ready to tear into her flesh. But the girl's quick reflexes and her teigu allowed her to duck underneath the attack. Sayo then grabbed a small dagger that was hidden on the shorts that she was wearing, before stabbing the pawn through the bottom of its jaw, piercing into its brain. When Sayo pulled the dagger away and turned back to Seryu, her eyes widened when she saw four pawns nearing her.

"SERYU!" she screamed out in worry, her eyes filled with horror.

But before the pawns could strike, they suddenly dropped to the ground, all bisected through their abdominal areas. Then one-by-one, in rapid succession, all the pawns surrounding her were brought down through a spear going through their chests.

"W-What the hell is going on!?" Kaku exclaimed as he watched the pawns continue to fall one-by-one.

"A spear…" Sayo thought, furrowing her eyebrows as she immediately turned her head to look at the surrounding treeline. "There's no mistake… that has to be…"

Like a thief in the night, Spear sprang from the shadows behind Kaku. The blonde-haired girl leaped onto Kaku's back, surprising the massive man.

"What the hell?!" Kaku roared, as he tried to grab ahold of Spear. "Get off me, you little brat!"

"Didn't you hear my friends?" Spear whispered in a dark and threatening tone, spinning her weapon in her hand. "That teigu… doesn't belong to you!" Kaku yelled in pain when the girl stabbed her spear into his arm. A few seconds later, Spear retracted her weapon before leaping off Kaku's back and seemingly melted back into the shadows.

"You think one little stab is gonna stop me, little girl!?" Kaku yelled, as he slammed his fist into his open wound, trying to shrug the pain off by applying more pressure to it. "It's gonna take a lot more than —" Kaku was cut off when something small started blinking from inside his wound. "What the fu —" A small bomb planted in Kaku's arm then detonated in a brilliant explosion that completely engulfed the massive man.

The area was soon filled with Kaku's howls of pain as the flames slowly disappeared. The hulking man was on his knees, his entire body charred and severely burned. His right arm had been completely blown off in the explosion, along with his left hand. Blood splattered from the horrendous wounds that were all over Kaku. With his life draining from his eyes, Kaku could only watch as Spear reappeared from the shadows in from of him. The girl silently walked up to Kaku and grabbed _**Extase**_ up off the ground. She took her time to look at the teigu itself before twirling it above her head, opened its blades afterwards and positioned Kaku's head between them.

"Heh… heheh…" Kaku laughed weakly, as he glared at Sayo. "D-Do it, ya bitch… just kill me…" Spear's eyes narrowed dangerously, her grip on _**Extase**_ tightening. But to the man's shock, Spear pulled the teigu back, stabbing it into the ground next to her.

"No." Spear said, grabbing her spear from behind her back. "I won't dirty _**Extase's**_ blades with your stinky blood. All you deserve is…" Spear then drove her weapon straight towards Kaku's chest, causing him to start twitching for a bit, before falling to the ground as she pulled her spear off his dead body. Grabbing _**Extase**_ , Spear turned her back to Kaku. "To burn in hell."

She looked down at the teigu in her hands, before hugging it against her chest. "I'm missed you so much, Sheele… I'm glad you're back here with Night Raid. I'm so sorry that I left… but I promise, I won't leave you again… never again…" Spear held onto _**Extase**_ like it was her lifeline, as a few tears escaped from her eyes.

"Thanks Spear, you really saved me back there!" Seryu said, as he placed a comforting hand on Sayo's shoulder. "You looked so cool when you brought down that criminal! I owe you my life!" she continued, saluting.

"W-Well, I can't let a friend and comrade die, can I?" Spear replied with a small blush, quickly wiping away her tears. "I promised everyone that I would grow stronger, so I could fight alongside all of you as equals."

"Seryu!" Sayo exclaimed, running up towards the two with a worried look on her face. "Are you okay?!"

"Yeah." Seryu nodded, grinning despite the dirt and small wounds she had on her face. "Spear saved my life back there and she had perfect timing as well! Now we have brought this criminal to justice and Sheele's teigu will not be dirtied anymore!"

"Alright, alright, we get the picture…" Spear chuckled, rolling her eyes in amusement. Releasing a light sigh, Spear offered _**Extase**_ to the dark-haired archer. "Here you go… I think Sayo should hold onto this."

"Sheele…" she breathed out, taking _**Extase**_ from Spear before hugging it tightly. Tears fell from Sayo's eyes, as she fell to her knees. "Welcome home… this is where you belong. I'm sorry that I left you on that ship… but it won't happen again! I'll protect everyone this time!" While the two were having a moment, Seryu had ran off with Koro to check any remaining enemies in proximity with her radar.

"Well…" Spear said, grabbing her spear tightly in her hand. "I better get back to it. These things are still crawling all over this place and they need to be stopped." She then stepped forward to place a comforting hand on Sayo's head. "Take all the time you need Sayo… I know how special Sheele was to you… just like how important she was to me…" The dark-haired archer tried to look up at Spear, but she had her face turned away, not wanting Sayo to see the few tears that escaped her eyes.

Quickly shaking her head, Spear wiped away her tears once again as she prepared to leave. "I'm gonna go see if —"

"Wait, Spear…" Sayo said, as she grabbing her comrade's hand before she could walk away. Rising back up to her feet, she offered the teigu on her hand back to Spear. "I think you should hang onto _**Extase**_."

"W-What?" the blonde woman stuttered out, her eyes slowly widening. "You want me to have _**Extase**_ as my teigu? I can't… I couldn't!"

"Take it, Spear." she said with a soft smile, gently placing the teigu in Spear's arms. "Sheele would want you to have it."

"But…" she muttered, staring down at the teigu in her arms. "I'm not as skilled as Tatsumi or Akame with a blade like this… I'm better with a spear. Besides, what makes you think she would want that? I never saw her again after my father separated us…"

"I know… but after what I just saw...I think _**Extase**_ wants you to be its owner… and I know that you can handle this teigu. Sheele may be forgetful for a lot of things, but I know one thing. She never forgot about you." Sayo said, punching Spear playfully on the arm. "Besides, you're way better than me in close combat anyways, so you shouldn't have any problems."

"Sayo…" she said barely above a whisper, desperately fighting back her incoming tears. Shaking slightly, Spear hugged _**Extase**_ close to her chest. "I… I don't know what to say, really. But… I'll do my best to use this just like Sheele did!"

"You can still use your spear as a weapon, but just keep _**Extase**_ for when you need an edge in battle." Sayo said, as she activated _**Spectator's**_ farsight ability. "Besides, I'd rather have _**Extase**_ stay here with us, than go to some random soldier in the revolutionary army. This way, we can always keep Sheele close and safe with us, even if she's not really with us anymore."

"Yeah… yeah, you're right, Sayo!" Spear muttered, her grip on the scissor teigu tightening slightly. "With this… a part of Sheele will always be with us and her memory will never be forgotten."

"Exactly." Sayo smiled, offering her hand towards Spear. "Now, let's get back out there and show these assholes why they should've never messed with Night Raid."

"I like the sound of that." Spear grinned, clasping hands with her friend. "Let's go kill some bastards!"

 **(Back with Stylish)**

"Kaku has been killed… and we have lost a substantial number of pawns." Mimi reported, a sudden chill running down her spine as she listened to Kaku's scream of anguish.

"Oh dear, it appears I have miscalculated a bit." Stylish said in a mocking tone, releasing a heavy sigh in a sarcastic manner. "I guess we have to —"

"The sky!" Mimi suddenly exclaimed as she turned around and looked up at the sky. "There's something heading towards us!"

"Huh?" Stylish said, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "What are you —" Stylish was cut off when a massive creature soared above his head, creating small shockwaves as it flew past him. When Stylish looked up, he was quite surprised to see a large danger beast flying over them. "A special-class danger beast… an… Air Manta?!"

"There are definitely people riding on it…" Eyes said, spotting a few figures on top of the Air Manta. However, he was then shocked when he recognized one of the people riding atop it. "That's… that's the former general Najenda! A-And… and there are at least two others with her from what I can tell, Stylish-sama!"

"How perfectly stylish!" The mad doctor exclaimed, letting out a boisterous laugh. "What an achievement… taming a special-class danger beast to ride on!"

"Hmm, it would seem that scum from the Empire has truly descended upon my base…" Najenda muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. The silver-haired woman's one good eye narrowed when she spotted Stylish down below. "That fortune-telling teigu was right once again. It hit the nail right on the head." Najenda grimaced when she saw smoke billowing from several areas around the base, before she turned to the two hooded figures behind her. "Okay you two, we better introduce… Night Raid's new combat forces."

"Hmph. Hahahahahaha!" Stylish laughed hysterically, setting off a creepy aura that sent chills down his soldiers' spines. "You may have taken me by surprise, but… this is actually working in my favor…" Snapping his fingers, a twisted smirk spread across Stylish's face.

"I'll turn every last one of them into mere guinea pigs for my experiments using the ace up my sleeve!" he grinned madly.

* * *

 _ **Well, this is the first part of the huge battle against Stylish! Next chapter will be the debut of Chelsea and Susanoo, so be sure to stay tuned!**_

 _ **Mine unable to walk… POOR THING! XD. Tatsumi, what have you done? I wonder how this will affect the next chapter…**_

 _ **And so, Spear receives Extase as her teigu… I wonder how would she handle it? I do hope she uses it well! Eh, for sure, she will…**_

 _ **Harem (Final): Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **If you want to catch up with me and your other favorite writers, join our Discord server:**_

[discord . gg / uDxVym8]

 _ **To those who want to join our Akame ga kill server…**_

[discord. gg / VX6sVkq]

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	24. Kill the Reinforcements

_**MERRY CHRISTMAS! ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS!**_

"Normal Talking"

" _Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga Kill or any of its characters…**_

* * *

 **(Inside Night Raid's Hidden Base)**

Akame quietly took a deep breath as she used _**Murasame**_ to deflect another one of Toby's attacks, displaying her magnificent skill in wielding a blade. Leaping into the air above them, Toby tried to kick Akame, with a blade extending from the bottom of his heel. However, the red-eyed assassin easily dodged the attack as she quickly slid to the right and slashed her blade upward, slicing Toby's right arm clean off. Toby grunted as blood sprayed from his open wound, his severed arm dropping to the ground with a dull thud.

"Tch, fuck…" Toby cursed, landing back on the ground, blood pooling at his feet.

"It looks like one cut won't be enough to bury you…" Akame said, sliding into her fighting stance and readying _**Murasame**_. "Then, I'll have to cut you down piece-by-piece. But I must warn you before I do so, it's going to hurt quite a lot, so I hope you've prepared yourself for your fate."

"Hmph, it's going to 'hurt' you say?" Toby muttered, a small smile spreading across his face. Akame's grip on _**Murasame**_ tightened when another blade suddenly sprouted from where Toby's right arm had previously been. "I don't even know what pain feels like anymore, Ms. Akame." Without another word, Toby charged towards Akame, ready to cut her down with his new blade arm.

Keeping calm, the girl locked blades with Toby and struggled to overpower him. As Akame fought with all her strength to push Toby back, her eyes widened when her enemy's mouth opened and a small pistol suddenly sprang out.

 _"I must act fast!"_ Akame thought, darting her head to the left just as Toby fired. The red-eyed assassin's superior speed and reaction time paid off, as the bullet whizzed past her ear, only hitting a few strands of her hair as it blew past. "Now's the time to finish this!"

 _"What amazing reaction speed."_ Toby thought as he stared at his opponent in awe, while Akame took advantage of his vulnerable state by slicing his other arm off. Toby grit his teeth as he turned around, another pistol appearing where his left arm had been. But Toby was surprised to see that Akame wasn't where he'd thought she'd be.

" _Wait a minute…"_ Realizing his mistake, Toby quickly lowered his gaze as he spotted Akame who crouched low to the ground. "From below!?" he exclaimed. Lunging forward, the red-eyed assassin cut Toby's left leg off, her sharp blade easily cutting straight through flesh and bone.

"Now, Lubbock!" Akame called out, noticing that her comrade had finally finished off the two larger goons he was forced to fight. At the sound of his name, Lubbock quickly arranged his threads into the form of a spear and hurled the weapon with all his might, piercing straight through Toby's chest.

"You little…" Toby struggled to say, coughing up a handful of blood. "You know it's rude to interrupt someone's fight…"

"Yeah, and it was rude of you bastards to just go into our hideout without permission." Lubbock said with a cocky smirk, shrugging his shoulders as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "I mean you guys didn't even give us a chance to tidy the place up and put out some good silverware, ya know? Besides…" Lubbock's smirk changed into a grin as he turned to Akame. "I couldn't just sit back and watch while my friend fights at enemy."

"…Well… even if we had continued fighting one-on-one…" Toby said, as he lowered his head and released a sigh of defeat. "I still would have lost…" Toby then raised his head and locked eyes with his enemy. "Please tell me… Akame… how was I inferior to you?"

"Your attacks were quite fierce, but…" Akame replied, slowly walking towards Toby with a neutral look on her face. "You left yourself exposed whenever you attacked…"

"Heh… so my defense was too weak?" Toby muttered, blood dripping from the corners of his mouth. "I suppose not feeling pain made me feel sort of invincible…" Toby lowered his head in defeat, smiling. "Well you have bested me, Akame… so I will admit defeat… and allow you to finish me off."

"If only you had joined the revolutionary army..." Akame said with a tone of slight sadness. "You could have been such a valuable asset… and would've fought for a righteous cause." Then in one swift motion Akame decapitated Toby with a clean swipe of _**Murasame**_. When Toby's headless corpse collapsed to the ground, Akame released a light sigh and resheathed her teigu, before turning around to face Lubbock. "I suppose we should head outside and help the others, now."

"Yeah, that would probably be the best move." Lubbock said, eyeing the body-ridden corridor. "We don't want to keep everyone waiting."

 **(Outside Night Raid's Base)**

"Hey, guys?" Seryu said, getting Spear and Sayo's attention before she pointed towards the large danger beast flying in the sky above them. "Why is an Air Manta flying above our base?"

"Is it an enemy?" Spear asked, narrowing her eyes. "If it is, then we have another problem to deal with on our hands…"

"Hold on a second Spear, I'll check it out." Sayo said, using _**Spectator's**_ farsight to take a look at the Air Manta from above. However, Mine's eyes shot open a moment later when she saw who was riding atop the Air Manta. "Hey, wait a minute! It's the boss and some people with her! Looks like she brought some reinforcements back home!"

"Well, that's some perfect timing." Spear said with a smirk, twirling her spear in her hand as she rested it on her shoulder. "We'll definitely have the upper hand in this fight at this rate!"

As Seryu was lost in thought, she never noticed the ominous presence lurking in the forest behind her and the others and Koro was too distracted to even get the stench of the new intruder.

 _"Oh? What do we have here?"_ Trooma thought with a twisted grin, leering at Seryu, Spear, and Sayo. _"Heh heh… they're all so cute!"_ Sliding a knife out of his sleeves, Trooma lunged towards the three. _"Young ladies, your backs are wide open!"_ Trooma's maniacal grin widened as he neared them but just before his blades could strike flesh, he was hit in the face by an elbow out of nowhere from a raging assassin.

"Now you've pissed me off!" Tatsumi said, driving his elbow into Trooma's jaw. The brunette's surprise attack sent Trooma crashing to the ground, getting everyone else's attention. Without hesitation, Tatsumi pounced on Trooma, destroyingy his face with multiple elbow shots. "No escape now, you bastard!"

"Guh!" Trooma breathed out as Tatsumi filled up his face with bruises and wounds. "Please… stop… someone… help… me…"

"This is for Leone, you son of a bitch!" he growled, his emerald eyes filled with rage. "I don't like it when someone messes with my comrades!" Grabbing him by his neck, he unsheathed _**Starfall**_ and pointed it to his neck. "I'd love to give you hell for doing that, but I'm afraid I have to end this quickly." With those words, Tatsumi decapitated him with one quick swipe.

Letting out a quick sigh of relief, Tatsumi immediately grabbed his own arm in surprise at the feeling of somebody punching it. "Tatsumi…" he turned his head to see Leone with a displeased look on her face. "Look at what you've done… he was supposed to be _my_ kill… why did you have to steal him away?" she pouted.

"Leone…" Tatsumi said, walking up towards the blonde woman. "Are you really okay? This guy attacked you earlier, right?"

"Aw, I'm so happy that you're worried about me, Tatsumi." Leone replied with a grin, patting her boyfriend's shoulder. "But you don't need to worry about me, Tatsumi. My healing abilities are greatly enhanced while I'm using _**Lionelle**_ , so I can take a good beating and still get back up."

 _"You say that now but…"_ Tatsumi thought, suddenly imagining Leone being in a pool of her own blood. _"I can't but be worried about you… I won't lose you… not after everything we've been through together."_

"I'm so glad you're all safe!" A familiar voice said, snapping Tatsumi out of his thoughts. Turning around, Tatsumi spotted both Akame and Lubbock jogging towards them. "We managed to kill those creeps lurking in our hideout!"

 _"Well that's good…"_ Tatsumi thought, feeling a wave of relief wash over him. _"Looks like Akame managed to reach Lubbock to help…"_ However, Tatsumi was once again pulled from his thoughts when a large group of Stylish's soldiers surrounded the Night Raid assassins. "You gotta be kidding me, there's still more of 'em?"

"But the good news is, I'm not picking anything up on my wires anymore." Lubbock said, retracting his threads. "Hopefully, this should be the last of them."

"WAIT!" a sudden voice said, getting the whole group's attention. Turning their heads towards the mysterious voice, they saw Mine blast her way through soldier after soldier using _**Pumpkin**_ yet there was something wrong with the way she moved. She looked like she was limping her way towards them. "WAIT FOR ME!" she exclaimed.

Of course, Tatsumi had no idea what he just did.

"Mine! Where the hell have you been?" Sayo asked, deactivating _**Spectator**_ as she turned her attention to her friend. "Are you hurt?!"

"I'm fine, Sayo…" the pinkette breathed out, panting slightly as she took her time to catch her breath, also hoping that nobody would notice the way how she moved around. She specifically sent a ferocious glare towards Tatsumi, who paled after he noticed that she was looking at him. "Just took me some time to get here because they were too many, that's all!"

"Is there something wrong, Mine?" Leone asked with a teasing grin, as she easily noticed how the pink-haired sniper was limping. Since she deduced earlier that Mine had slept with Tatsumi, she knew exactly why she was like this. "You look like you need some help walking! What exactly happened last night?"

" _SHE KNOWS?!"_ thought Tatsumi and Mine at the same time.

"Uh, n-nothing Leone! Nothing happened! I just bumped my leg into my own closet and it still hurts until now!" Mine immediately said to save her own skin, not wanting her relationship with Tatsumi to be known… yet.

"Ohhh… really?" Leone continued, enjoying the situation and had it not been for Tatsumi, sending her a displeased look, she would have continued. "Anyway Lubbock is right, I'm not smelling anymore of these bastards either." she said with a feral grin, punching her palm. "Now let's go wild!"

 _"From the looks of these weird-looking soldiers, itt seems like Dr. Stylish is the only one who came after us… if the others were here, they would've attacked as well…"_ Tatsumi thought, narrowing his eyes. "Alright everyone!" Tatsumi's sudden shout got all comrades' attention. "It's let's teach these bastards one of the first rules in this place! You don't fuck with Night Raid!"

"Sounds good to me!" Leone exclaimed, baring her fangs and cracking her knuckles. "I've got a lot of pent up aggression to let out!"

"Heh, I still gotta pay you back for what happened earlier but…" Mine said with a smirk as she readied _**Pumpkin**_. "I guess these assholes did barge into our home unannounced."

"We've got your back Tatsumi." Akame said, unsheathing _**Murasame**_ and moving closer to Tatsumi.

"We'll bring them to justice! Koro!" Seryu grinned, her teigu already in its giant form, ready to kill more enemies.

"Give me strength, Sheele." Sayo thought throwing away her bow before grabbing _**Extase**_.

"Alright, let's do —" Tatsumi stopped mid-sentence when all his comrades suddenly collapsed to the ground around him. Filled with confusion, Tatsumi immediately ran up to Akame and Leone. "Hey! What's going on you guys?! Are you okay?!"

"M-My body…" Mine struggled to say, her breathing heavy and labored. "It f-feels so numb… I can't move… at all… T-Tatsumi…"

"What… the hell… is happening?" Sayo muttered, forcing herself to use _**Extase**_ to prop herself up. "My whole body… feels so heavy… it's so… hard to move… this is almost… like what happened back… on that ship…"

"What's going on? What's happening with them?" Tatsumi said, standing back onto his feet, his mind racing with possible ideas. "I-Is this some kind of hypnotism?"

"N-No… this is… poison…" Akame said weakly, as she fought as hard as she could to stay conscious.

 **(Cliffs Overlooking Night Raid's Base)**

"It seems that apart from the brown kid, the poison is having an immediate effect, Dr. Stylish." Eyes reported as he watched most of Night Raid's members fall to the ground.

"Haha… that was the first ace hidden up my sleeve." Stylish smirked, adjusting his glasses. "It's an extremely potent paralyzing drug that I invented some time ago. I figured that normal poison wouldn't work on those assassins, so I used the most powerful one I had in one spray." The doctor's smirk widened slightly as he crossed his arms over his chest. "But it would seem that Tatsumi's body has somehow developed a small resistance the poison's effects. However, it's only a matter of time before he falls as well."

"Ah!" Hana exclaimed, realization hitting him. "Stylish-sama, wouldn't our own men be in danger as well?"

"We have already administered an antidote to all of our men, so they should be fine." Mimi replied, brushing some of her hair to the side. "Dr. Stylish thought of everything ahead of time."

"That is correct." Stylish said, winking at Hana. "You're also resistant to it, Hana." He then suddenly blushed and scratched his cheek. "I… I didn't want to use my most powerful drug on those strong and healthy Night Raid subjects… and, well… creating this single sample batch took such a long time, so it's quite precious to me…" Stylish then fell onto one knee and spoke in an overly-dramatic voice. "But now, all of you see that I had no choice! They were killing all of my precious little pawns!" Stylish's display of emotions caused everyone around him to gush.

"That's our Stylish-sama!"

"He's too kind!"

"Such a great man with respectable honor!"

 **(Back With Night Raid)**

"I can… move more than everyone else? How the hell is this happening?" Tatsumi thought, as he clenched and unclenched his fist. By now, with his help, Leone and Akame had managed to stand back onto their feet, but they had to struggle with every movement.

 _"Shit, I can slowly feel it… but it looks like I'm more resistant to it than them!"_ Tatsumi thought, holding _**Starfall**_ tightly in his grasp as he walked in front of his incapacitated comrades. _"I won't last long, but I have to protect —!"_ Tatsumi was snapped out of his thoughts when something suddenly crashed in the middle of the massive horde of Stylish's soldiers, kicking up a large wall of dust and debris. _"Okay, what the hell just happened?"_

When the dust surrounding it finally began to clear, Tatsumi's eyebrows furrowed in confusion when he spotted a massive horned, blue-haired man standing on top of one of the pawns, with his large staff shattering the its skull.

"Who… is that guy?" Seryu asked, eyeing the newcomer warily as she prepared to give Koro her signal to attack.

"Is he with the enemy?" Leone asked as she slid into a fighting stance.

"No, wait." Tatsumi replied, holding out his arm to block the busty blonde woman. "He's on our side."

 **(In the Air Above Night Raid's Base; With Najenda)**

"If you and I go down there now, it could get dangerous, Chelsea. It's best to stay safe than be sorry." Najenda said, turning to the other hooded figure that was still atop the Air Manta with her.

"Yes, boss." the girl said, saluting to Najenda.

"Now!" the silver-haired woman exclaimed, as she turned to the large man who had landed in the middle of the battlefield near the other Night Raid assassins. "Drive away all the enemies that you see before you and keep my assassins safe! Susanoo!"

"Understood." Susanoo replied, charging towards the waves of pawns before him as rapidly-spinning blades extended from the end of his staff. Charging into the crowd of pawns, Susanoo thrust his staff forward. Its whirling blades shredded through everything they touched; hacking off limbs and organs, and painting the ground with a fresh coat of blood. Another group of pawns tried to surround the man, but one swipe of his staff reduced them to bloody chunks scattering all over the area.

"Wow… so much… carnage…" Tatsumi thought, staring at the display of destruction in awe. "He's just like Aniki…"

 **(Back with Dr. Stylish)**

"What the hell?! This is impossible!" Eyes exclaimed, watching the newcomer tear through their forces. "That new guy is tearing through our soldiers like paper! If he's human, then why didn't the poison affect him?!"

"Hmm, I don't get it…" Stylish hummed, rubbing his chin as he thought of a possible answer. "Perhaps, he wields a teigu I'm not familiar with…" Seeing no other possible options, Stylish grabbed a small device from his lab coat's pocket. "In that case… I'll sacrifice my dear soldiers… with this." Pressing the red trigger on the device, Stylish smirked when a large explosion echoed out in the distance.

"Haha… those pawns were all packed with specially-designed human explosives. There's no way he could have survived that." he laughed crazily, grinning like a man who'd gone mentally insane.

 **(Back with Night Raid)**

Tatsumi simply watched in stunned silence as Susanoo stood before him, with his left arm blown off and dozens of other wounds showing all over his body. But what shocked the brunette the most was that Susanoo seemed to be unaffected whatsoever, as he didn't even scream or hiss in pain.

 _"What's with this guy?"_ Tatsumi thought in confusion and surprise before he saw all of Susanoo's wounds begin to bubble and emit smoke, causing his eyes to widen considerably. _"What the hell is happening to him?"_

"That… That's… " Spear muttered in shock as she watched Susanoo's arm slowly begin to regenerate. "I… I don't believe it…"

"It's… just like with Seryu and Koro." Lubbock breathed out, watching as Susanoo clenched his newly formed fist. Seryu gave her own nod of confirmation, agreeing with her comrade's words.

"It's a biological teigu…" Mine said in awe, staring at Susanoo in shock. "A human teigu!" She then quirked a pink eyebrow when she noticed that the massive man was now staring directly at her. "W-What do you want?" Mine felt nervous when Susanoo rushed over and knelt down next to her, reaching out to touch her.

"Hey, you —" Tatsumi exclaimed, preparing to rush over and stop the humanoid teigu if he tried something fishy with his new girlfriend. However, he was caught off guard when he saw Susanoo fix Mine's disheveled hair. "What the —?"

"There!" Susanoo cheered as he stood back onto his feet. "All better!"

"H-Huh?" Mine stuttered out, staring up at Susanoo in confusion. "What's all better?"

 _"He's a neat freak?"_ Tatsumi thought, as he raised an eyebrow before he started to feel the effects of the poison kick in, covering his mouth. _"I… did not expect that…"_

Flying high up in the air above her assassins, Najenda began scanning the surrounding area. The silver-haired woman pulled out a high-tech pair of binoculars, and gazed at the cliffs that surrounded their base. _"That'd have to be a good enough place to observe Akame and everyone else…"_ Najenda thought, her eye narrowing. _"And if we're upwind from where the poison was dispersed then…"_ she then turned her gaze towards the southwestern cliffs, looking for something in particular. _"If someone is giving orders to these bastards, they'd definitely be around here somewhere…"_

Najenda smirked when she finally spotted four figures standing near the cliff's edge. "Targets sighted!" Putting the binoculars away, Najenda prepared to give her new orders. "Susanoo! The enemy's leader is lurking in the cliffs to the southwest! Head there and destroy them! Leave no survivors!"

"Understood!" Susanoo exclaimed in response, sprinting towards where Stylish was located almost immediately.

"Hey, wait!" Tatsumi called out, as he resisted through the poison's effects and ran after Susanoo. "Let me back you up!"

"Wait!" Akame called out, as she grabbed ahold of Tatsumi's cape. "If you're heading out there, take me with you!"

"Can you move?" Tatsumi asked, kneeling down next to Akame. "Because I don't want you to fight if the poison is still affecting you."

"I don't have full control of my legs yet, but I can fight. I feel the poison's effects would wear off a few minutes from now." Akame said, her eyes full of determination.

"Alright, let's get going." Tatsumi said, allowing Akame to climb onto his back. "I know it's not a good idea to argue with you. Akame grinned in response before they flew off into the air using _**Starfall**_.

"That idiot, does he even bother worrying about his own safety?" Sayo said under her breath, groaning in frustration. "Why does he always have to put himself in danger?" After a good few seconds of thinking, Sayo sighed deeply and put on a worried look. _"You better stay safe, Tatsumi."_ she thought, watching Tatsumi disappear into the treeline. _"I'll never forgive you if you get hurt."_

 **(Cliffs to the Southwest; With Dr. Stylish)**

"We've been discovered!" Mimi shouted, after hearing Najenda's exclamation. "And they are rapidly approaching our position!"

"Oh well!" Stylish yelled, as he ran for the nearby treeline. "No point sticking around now! Let's get out of here while we can!" However, Stylish and his soldiers were stopped when the Air Manta did an extremely low pass overhead, knocking them all off their feet and stopping them in their tracks

Groaning in pain, Stylish rubbed his head. "They're not gonna let use get away, no matter what…" Just as Stylish and his men were starting to get back onto their feet, Susanoo had dropped in from the air.

"Don't worry, Stylish-sama!" Eyes exclaimed, standing protectively in front of Stylish.

"In the game of chess, we're your most powerful pieces!" Nose said, assuming a rather sloppy fighting stance. "We'll protect you at all costs!"

 _"No, no, it's not possible in this situation… you fools are only useful for reconnaissance. You can't fight at all!"_ Stylish thought, gritting his teeth in irritation. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a syringe full of red liquid. _"It's finally come down to this… and I'm prepared to do my worst!"_ Grinning hysterically, Stylish slammed the needle into his arm and emptied its contents. "This is the second ace up my sleeve! A condensed serum of several danger beasts' DNA! My whole self shall be forever known as stylish!"

Stylish's three minions watched along with Susanoo as the doctor started to morph into a new form.

"It's here! It's here! It's hereeeeeee!" Stylish yelled, as he laughed hysterically. The doctor's lower body had transformed into that of a giant that towered over the treeline. The upper portion of Stylish's body remained human, and was atop his newly formed muscular body. "This is the ultimate form of stylishness! I will become a danger beast myself… and blow everyone away!"

With a crazed smile, Stylish grabbed ahold of Eyes and Nose. The soldiers began to panic when a large mouth suddenly opened in the middle of Stylish's gigantic body. "You are all my precious nutrition! Let us become one!" Stylish devoured the two men, his danger beast body transforming as it slowly absorbed them. Mimi, who was behind the doctor, was frozen in terror as Stylish turned around to look down at her. "You're next my dear! I need your delicious nutrients!"

"NOOOOO!" Mimi screamed, as one of Stylish's arms reached out to snatch her, so she could be absorbed as well. The woman tried to escape, but she had nowhere to go when Stylish's massive arm got to her.

"I am nothing but stylish now!" the doctor laughed hysterically as he devoured Mimi. But the human-danger beast hybrid was suddenly stopped from his laughing when Susanoo slammed his staff into Stylish's monstrous chest. However, his attack proved to be useless against the doctor's now armor-like chest.

"Your body has hardened." Susanoo said to himself, before jumping away to prevent getting caught by Stylish's hideous arms.

"Yes it has and I shall make you one of my nutrients too, human teigu! Let's become one as well!" Stylish yelled in a crazed voice, as he charged towards Susanoo.

 **(Back with Night Raid)**

"What is that thing?" Sayo asked, watching as a large figure rose above the treeline.

"Whatever it is, it's disgusting…" Mine said, as she managed to sit on her knees; by now a good amount of the poison had exited her system. "It's just like a monster."

Seryu narrowed her eyes and held Koro (who was now in his normal form) close to her chest, thinking deeply to herself as she tried her best not to cry. She may be a part of Night Raid now, but Stylish was a huge part of her life and she would never forget that. " _Doctor… why did it have to come to this? You could've just surrendered…"_

"Tatsumi and Akame might have gone on ahead, but I feel disappointed that we aren't able to be of that much help…" Spear muttered with a scowl, causing Leone to pat her on the shoulder with a wide grin on her face.

"Don't feel bad, Spear… you'll have another chance soon! This ain't gonna be the first and last mission for you, you know! You'll get plenty of chances to prove yourself and help in our cause!" Leone laughed, and Spear sighed afterwards.

"Still…" the girl whispered to herself, looking at _**Extase**_ before turning her attention back towards Stylish.

 **(A Few Minutes Later; Woods Approaching the Southwest Cliffs)**

"I still can't believe that you had sex with Mine just before this whole battle started." Akame said, as she tried, and failed, to suppress her giggles. "No wonder she was walking funny when she joined the battle earlier."

"In my defense, I never knew that an attack would happen in our base before we did it." Tatsumi said, chuckling lightly as they flew threw the air. "She's gonna kill me for embarrassing her in front of everyone though… although indirectly."

"Well, at least we'll have support now." Akame said, glancing back to see the Air Manta flying not too far from them. "Now to eliminate the enemy."

"HAHAHA!" Stylish laughed crazily, as he swung his arm at Susanoo, who easily dodged the attack before he stopped to gloat for his own amusement. "What's the matter, human teigu?! You've been evading me this whole time! You can be more aggressive if you want! I can play your game if you'll be that way!"

"I was awaiting for your opening." Susanoo said, suddenly appearing just in front of him, before finally going on the offensive and knocking Stylish back with his staff. Once again, it did nothing to Stylish but it was there that he noticed Tatsumi and Akame flying into the scene just directly in front of him in the air.

"Is this supposed to be your backup? How foolish…" Stylish asked with a smirk, as he noticed how they were just two teenagers who were covered in bright light, flying through the sky. However, that was until he got a good look at who the male was.

"Ahh, Tatsumi! What a reunion this turned out to be! I'd love to chat about how you are fighting with Night Raid, but I'm afraid I don't have the time." With a twisted grin, Stylish swung at Tatsumi and Akame. "So I'll just crush you two right now!" However, Stylish was stopped when a powerful shot from _**Pumpkin**_ slammed into him.

"Stay the hell away from them!" Mine yelled, firing another shot at Stylish, which caused the monstrous man to topple over.

"Great shot, Mine!" Tatsumi exclaimed, looking back to give Mine a quick thumbs up.

"I'm still gonna kick your ass for what happened earlier!" Mine shouted, glaring at Tatsumi as she stood atop the Air Manta.

"Now's our chance, Tatsumi. Let's attack him together. I can move my legs now." Akame said, before the brunette carrying her nodded in agreement.

"This is the end for you, Dr. Stylish!" Tatsumi exclaimed, landing on the human-danger beast hybrid with Akame as they charged on together. The crazed doctor tried to attack them both with his one arm, but Susanoo had jumped into the fray and blocked Stylish's attack with his staff

"This isn't over yet!" Stylish roared as a dozen spear-like tentacles grew out of his body and rocketed towards Akame and Tatsumi.

"Time to fly!" Tatsumi exclaimed, using _**Starfall**_ to charge towards Stylish's human portion at incredible speed, flying past the tentacles easily as he set the doctor in his sights. Stylish's eyes widened at the young assassin being covered in bright light, in awe at his ability to fly before he was forced to dodge to the side to avoid his upcoming strike.

Stylish hissed in pain when he felt the sword graze him as he looked at the wound. He then grinned and laughed hysterically when he noticed only a small wound on his right shoulder, blood slowly flowing it. "A simple wound will do you nothing, Tatsumi! However, I must say, I am curious… what is that sword and how can you fly with it?" he asked with a sarcastic look.

Tatsumi landed on the ground behind the doctor, resting his sword on his shoulder as he looked back with an emotionless expression. "After the meteor strikes…"

Stylish's eyes widened when he noticed another upcoming presence in front of him, forcing him to turn his attention back in front.

Too late.

Akame had already reached him with _**Murasame**_ in her grasp; apparently Tatsumi charging ahead was only a small distraction for the red-eyed assassin to get close enough to him without being noticed. "Eliminate." Unsheathing her teigu, she dashed forward, slicing Stylish's human half across the chest with _**Murasame**_ ; the demonic poison instantly filled his body as his jaw slightly dropped in pure shock.

"The rain comes to sweep up the mess." Akame finished, landing beside Tatsumi as she looked back at Stylish and pointed her sword towards the doctor.

"But… there were still so many…" Stylish stuttered out as he toppled over, _**Murasame's**_ poison quickly reaching his heart. "Human experiments… I wanted to do… W-Why did I… deserve this… bad luck?" With a ground-shaking crash, Stylish fell to the ground dead.

"Phew, glad that's over…" Tatsumi breathed out, patting his girlfriend on the back. "Great work Akame… we should team up more often!"

"Target eliminated." Akame said in her usual tone before turning towards the young man. "Tatsumi, you'd really want that?" she asked cutely, doing a complete change of attitude.

"Yeah, we make a really good team! We took down Stylish by working together and the Boss talked about our teigus being partners when I joined Night Raid. So, how about it?"

"I'd love to, Tatsumi." she smiled as she pulled him in for a hug, with Tatsumi returning her embrace almost immediately, only for them to separate when they heard some voices approaching their position.

"Great work, you two!" Leone cheered, appearing from the treeline, as she supported both Spear and Lubbock. "We saw everything on our way over here! I swear, you did an awesome job kicking his ass!"

"Yeah, good job!" Lubbock exclaimed with a thumbs-up. "You sure did finish the job! He was a damn pain in a neck, that bastard… good thing he's gone now."

"I'm just glad you're both safe." Spear said, breathing out a sigh of relief before she glanced to the side; Seryu was kneeling before Stylish's dead body, sobbing into her hands while she was being comforted by Koro and Sayo.

"Excellent job, everyone." Najenda said, getting their attention as the Air Manta touched down near them. The boss hopped off the danger beast along with Mine and the other hooded figure, before she continued in her words. "You all did well in defending our base." Najenda then turned to the doctor's dead body and sighed heavily. "Once we've collected Stylish's teigu, we can head to a secluded spot to lie low for a while. Since he had found out about our hideout, it's no surprise if another one shows up to finish the job."

"Boss." Tatsumi said with a solemn look, walking up to Najenda.

"What is it Tatsumi?" Najenda asked as she lit a cigarette.

"Once we arrive at our hiding spot, can I speak with you?" Tatsumi asked, sheathing his teigu. "The others can listen in if they wish to."

"If you don't mind me asking, what is it that you want to talk about, Tatsumi?" Najenda replied, taking a quick drag of her cigarette.

"It's about Esdeath." Tatsumi explained, causing Najenda's eye to widen in shock. "I need to tell you something about her… something only I know about at least until a few days ago… since I already told the others about it. It's only right that I tell you about it too."

"Alright, I'll hear you out when we get to our new hideout." she said, nodding slowly as she thought about what could Tatsumi possibly talk about regarding Esdeath.

"Thank you, Boss." Tatsumi said as a smirk appeared on Najenda's face.

"You're quite the odd one aren't you, Tatsumi?" Najenda said, chuckling lightly. "But you're a damn good assassin, one of my best actually, and I'm glad Leone dragged you and Sayo here a few months back. You even got two others to join our cause as well…" she said, looking at Spear and Seryu, who was wiping away her tears as she approached the group.

"Thanks, Boss… well, I… can't imagine my life without Night Raid anymore." Tatsumi said with a small smile.

"Yeah, we get it… anyway…" Najenda said, turning to the nearby treeline. "How long are you gonna hide behind that tree and eavesdrop on us? Since you're Night Raid's newest member, come out and introduce yourself, Chelsea." With those words, the second hooded figure emerged from behind a nearby tree.

"Shoot, I guess you caught me…" a teasing feminine voice said from under the hood as the girl took a lollipop out of her mouth. "And I thought I was being stealthy too." She grabbed her hood and pulled it down, revealing herself to everyone else.

* * *

 _ **And that's how Night Raid deals with their enemies! Haha, I hope you all liked this chapter especially the debut of our two newest characters, Susanoo and Chelsea. Next chapter, we'll get to more of that so stay tuned!**_

 _ **We get back to the Jaegers next chapter too, so stay tuned!**_

 _ **Harem (Final): Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **If you want to catch up with me and your other favorite writers, join our Discord server:**_

[discord . gg / uDxVym8]

 _ **To those who want to join our Akame ga kill server…**_

[discord. gg / VX6sVkq]

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	25. Kill the Little Girl

"Normal Talking"

" _Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters… I also don't own the song in this chapter.**_

* * *

 **(The Next Morning: Skies to the Southeast of the Capital)**

"Hey…" Chelsea said, sitting down next to Akame. "Is he alright?" The red eyed assassin turned her head to see that Chelsea was gesturing towards Tatsumi. The young man was sitting on the other side of the Air Manta, away from everyone else. He was simply staring out at the empty sky ahead of him, while holding a small urn in his hand. "He's been like that ever since we took off. From what Boss told me, he's usually pretty serious and easygoing, with a totally badass side as well. This… isn't exactly what I expected from him."

"I don't know… he might just be thinking deeply about something." Akame replied, turning her full attention to her lover as she quirked an eyebrow. Earlier, Tatsumi was acting as normal as he possibly could but not now, and it honestly got Akame curious.

"I don't get it." Chelsea lightly huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Tatsumi has been acting weird ever since we left your old base. I thought I could say hello and we can get along somehow? Is he having a personal problem right now?"

"I really don't know if that's the issue… hold on, let me ask him." Akame said, before she began to walk over towards Tatsumi. "I'll be back shortly…" When she reached Tatsumi's side, he didn't seem to notice her, continuing to stare straight ahead while taking glances at the urn that he was holding. Akame took a moment to compose herself before she sat down next to Tatsumi. This time, the brunette did notice Akame's presence, turning his head to glance at her.

"Oh… hey, Akame." he smiled, suddenly looking like his normal self once again. "What's up?"

"Nothing much… just waiting until we finally reach our new hideout. But what about you? Are you okay?"

Tatsumi didn't want to lie to her, as it would only worsen the situation, so he deeply sighed before speaking. "Do you want the truth?" he asked.

Akame nodded.

"Well… you know how Ieyasu's ashes are inside this urn?" he asked, showing her the urn he had been holding the whole time.

"Yes, had him cremated when you returned to the capital about two days after you joined Night Raid, you told me… what about it?" she replied, quirking an eyebrow.

The young man hesitated for a bit before handing her the urn; Akame was tad confused on why he would do this but as soon as she grabbed ahold of it, her eyes widened when she felt a good hole in its side, and she was forced to take it herself to see if it was true. Unfortunately for her, it was indeed true and the urn had a gaping hole on it, and she couldn't feel any of its contents which only meant one thing. "T-Tatsumi? What happened to Ieyasu's ashes?"

"Well… after we fought off Stylish and his soldiers, Boss told us to gather our things and pack up, right? When I went back to my room, Ieyasu's urn was on the floor and it was shattered… and his ashes were scattered all over." he explained in a neutral tone.

"Oh, Tatsumi… I'm… I'm so sorry… I never should've —!" she tried to give it back to him, only for him to snatch it away from her before throwing it away to the forest below, out of their sights and causing Akame to widen her eyes in shock.

"Tatsumi! W-What did you do?!" she exclaimed, turning to her lover with an incredulous look.

He shrugged his shoulders as a response, before leaning back and looking up at the clear sky. "Well, Ieyasu's ashes are gone, anyway… why would I keep a shattered urn with me if there's nothing important inside it? It's about time too… if I keep thinking about the past, it will hold me down and prevent me from moving forward, Akame… and that's why the deaths of my parents don't even affect me that much anymore… I've moved on from it. Besides, Ieyasu will always be with me… I may not see him, but he's right here with me all the time."

The red-eyed assassin slowly thought over what Tatsumi had said before she smiled through it all and shook her head playfully. "Tatsumi, sometimes I want to be like you… we both had a rough childhood, but you know how to deal with the feeling of losing someone close to you… but me, it took so much time for me to come to terms with the deaths of my friends…" she sighed in sadness, before she noticed Tatsumi was giving her a concerned look, and she had to redirect the conversation back to her boyfriend before it would be about her. "But my point is, you are way more mature for your age… to even act like this."

"Well, you can say that… but I ain't perfect. Nobody is." he shrugged again, before letting Akame rest on his shoulder. "There are still times that I can get emotional and go out of my usual demeanor."

"Still… you know what I mean… back then, I thought you'd be someone who I'd have to protect and keep safe because of being naive but… I was terribly wrong. You proved me wrong when we fought… and now I have you as someone I can rely on and someone who can actually protect me from harm… now, I have something to live for… other than my sister." she smiled, snuggling close to him.

"Thanks Akame…" Tatsumi said with an embarrassed grin, giving Akame's hand a quick squeeze. "I feel a lot better now… to be honest, I was feeling a bit sad of having to let go of that urn, but… because of you, it's not affecting me that much anymore."

"I'm glad to hear that." Akame said, as she stood back onto her feet. "Whenever you need somebody to talk to, you know where to find me. There's Leone and Mine too, if you want…"

"Yeah, thanks… but I'd rather not go to Mine for now…" Tatsumi said with a chuckle, before shooting up onto his feet and outstretched his hand for Akame to take. "Come on, let me do something for you in return. Take my hand."

Although curious, Akame did not even hesitate to hold his hand. "Tatsumi, what are you —!" she let out surprised squeak when he suddenly pulled her towards him and carried her up on his back, with her arms wrapped around his neck.

"Time to fly!" he exclaimed as he unsheathed _**Starfall**_ before the two assassins took off into the air. Akame clung onto him tightly while giggling into his neck as he flew alongside the Air Manta, screaming his lungs out in excitement. "WOOOO! I'm flying with an Air Manta! This is so awesome!"

"Now that looks more like the Tatsumi that Najenda told me about…" Chelsea said with a smirk, sucking on her lollipop as she watched the two in amusement. "Looks like whatever Akame did, worked. He's acting exactly like how Najenda told me now."

"It's better when Tatsumi's smiling like that." Sayo said with a blush, apparently hearing Chelsea's words. "He has this unique ability to lift everyone's spirits and keep us motivate, especially me so it's not good to have him acting all depressed… he's one of the reasons our village is still running up until now, to be honest… he works hard everyday to help everyone…"

"Yeah!" Leone cheered on, grinning widely as she watched her lover and her best friend fly through the air. "Looks like you're back to normal, Tatsumi! And you're right! Being on top of this big guy is way more fun than what I imagined!"

"Not it's not damn it!" Mine exclaimed, her face pale as she clung to Lubbock in fear. Both assassins were trembling slightly as they held onto each other for dear life. "I fucking hate heights!"

Not far from them, Najenda couldn't help but smirk at Lubbock's fear of heights.

* * *

 _ **-Start song (Fairy Tail OP 16 - Strike Back) -**_

 **Wooooaaahhh… wooaah… woooaaahh… woaaaoohh…**

 _-Tatsumi is standing on top of a hilltop as the sun starts to rise before it cuts to his face, with him closing his eyes_

 **(Strike Back!)**

 _-Tatsumi snaps his eyes open and slashes across the screen, and the Akame ga Kill! logo shows during the instrumental_

 **Kidō sura kae rarenai kurai no kakuritsuda to shite mo**

 _-The Emperor and Honest are standing on the palace's balcony, watching at the war between the Revolutionary Army and the Empire_

 **ippāsento demo areba mo chiron teikō desho?**

 _-The members of Night Raid and the Jaegers start walking towards each other, with Najenda and Esdeath leading their respective groups_

 **Shosen, 'unmei' to nagetsuke raretatte, No I Won't!**

 _-In the Jaegers' Meeting Room, Marina gets introduced to the other Jaegers and she smiles before she found herself staring at Ren_

 **Hikkurikaeshite, Because**

 _-Chelsea looks back behind her with a horrified look on her face as blood covers the screen_

 **datte kimi to mirai wo miretara saikō janai?**

 _-An lifeless arm covered in blood falls to the ground in a puddle of blood and images of Akame, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Spear, Sayo, and Chelsea appear one-by-one before a black boot stomps on the puddle of blood_

 **Bring it on! cuz I'm just gonna grow up in the battle HEY!**

 _-A young Tatsumi and Esdeath are shown fighting each other in the tournament at the Northern Region_

 **Buchi nuku donten! Still burning my fire**

 _-Back in the battlefield, Run flies through the sky and kills several soldiers from above_

 **ten wo kirisaku raimei**

 _-Ren and Bols work together with their flames to burn down and weaken the attacking army_

 **I gotta kakikesu**

 _-Wave fights and quickly wins against several rebels with his_ _**Grand Chariot**_

 **Nightmare tada mirai ga mitakute!**

 _-Kurome unsheathes_ _ **Yatsufusa**_ _and cuts down all the soldiers in her way while Marina, in her combat outfit, sliced her way through everyone with her claws as she slashes the screen_

 **Kako,**

 _-Tatsumi shows up with a determined expression_

 **mirai,**

 _-Akame is seen with a very sad look on her face_

 **soshite iki teru ima,**

 _-Kurome cries into Wave's clothes as she hugged him_

 **I ain't scared of my past and now for taku sa reta asu**

 _-All of the members of Night Raid charge on into battle, pulling out their respective teigus_

 **Screaming out for my pride!**

 _-Esdeath flashes a sadistic grin_

 **Namida mitakunai kara, sakebi tsuzukeru yo! Zutto…**

 _-Tatsumi wipes the tears from his eyes as he flew down the hilltop and zoomed towards Esdeath despite the icicles that she sent to attack him_

 **(I'm never falling down! Oi kaze wo se ni fukitobasu Destiny!)**

 _-Tatsumi and Esdeath fight each other at a very fast pace that no one could catch up with their movements_

 **Kono senaka ni aru,**

 _-Akame faces off with Kurome on opposite sides of the battlefield with tears in her eyes_

 **egao mamoritai kara!**

 _-The rest of Night Raid assemble in the battlefield and prepare to fight back_

 **Zutto…** **(I gotta blast off your pain for you and me!)**

 _-Ren is sitting in his room, alone, as he flashed a dark look while imagining how would it be like when he has Akame to himself_

 **(Kanashimi nante Rest in peace!)**

 _-Marina hugs Ren from behind and he is shocked, cutting off his dark thoughts_

 **Nando demo…**

 _-Tatsumi charges towards Esdeath one last time as it cuts to the sky, a shooting star seen visible as it flew through the air_

 _ **-End of song-**_

* * *

 **(One Hour Later; Southeast of the Capital, Marg Highlands)**

"Alright everyone, this is our stop!" Najenda called out, hopping off the Air Manta as it landed in a large empty clearing. The rest of the Night Raid assassins quickly gathered their belongings and followed her. "This place is packed with dozens of sheer plateaus and it has a very unique ecosystem… the danger beasts found in this area are a fairly high level, which makes them extremely dangerous. This whole territory is virtually unexplored… so it's not fit for human habitation." A small smirk suddenly spread across the Boss's face when she noticed her assassins were staring at her.

"But since it's unexplored territory… it's the perfect place to build a temporary hideout for Night Raid. There's actually a new and more fitting place for us to stay near the capital, however it is currently being scouted by the Revolutionary Army's reconnaissance team. Until they're finished with their work, we'll train here to prepare once we're accepting missions again." Everyone was slightly surprised when the Air Manta they just rode on suddenly lifted off the ground and flew off into the sky, away from them.

"Hm, is it really okay for that thing to fly off, boss?" Mine asked as she watched the danger beast disappear in the distance. "He's carrying all the teigu that we confiscated too."

"He's way too precious of a transport vehicle for us to hoard all to ourselves." the silver-haired woman explained with sigh, resting her hands on her hips.

"I'm gonna miss that big guy." Tatsumi said, slightly smiling as he watched the danger beast fly away.

"He's most likely going back to HQ where his nest is." Chelsea said, briefly taking her lollipop out of her mouth. "It's actually a very efficient way to get things delivered to everyone there." A hidden smirk spread across Chelsea's face, before she snickered in amusement. "Heh, I can't believe you didn't know that Mine."

 _"This bitch!"_ Mine thought, tightly clenching her fist. _"She's really starting to piss me off! What the hell's her problem?!"_

"Come on Chelsea, don't be like that to Mine." Tatsumi said, setting his bags onto the ground before crossing his arms, ready to defend his girlfriend from unwanted attention. "We don't need to build any unnecessary tension, especially towards Mine."

"Aw, no need to be stingy like that…." Chelsea grinned, playfully flicking Tatsumi's nose. "I was just messing with Mine. Trying to lighten the mood even further, ya know?"

"I understand that, but Mine obviously didn't like it." Tatsumi said as he rested his hands on his hips before shaking his head. "So please just go easy on her, okay? "

"No promises, Tatsumi." Chelsea said, shrugging her shoulders before walked away.

 _"Okay, I hope I didn't upset her with that…"_ Tatsumi sighed, before rolling his eyes as he began to rummage through his bag. _"I just didn't want her and Mine at each other's throats… I don't want any of the people I care about fighting —"_ Tatsumi was then cut off from his thoughts when he felt something tug on his white sweater. Quickly turning around, he saw Mine standing behind him; the pink-haired sniper looked serious for a moment, before he noticed the blush on her cheeks.

"You didn't have to do that, you know…" she muttered, turning her gaze to the side for a second before she looked back at him with a small smile. "But… thanks. She was really starting to upset me and… if you hadn't stepped in, I might have said something bad."

 _"Woah… I did not expect her to be like this… considering how she usually acts around me back then…"_ Tatsumi thought, smiling slightly in return as he looked at Mine's face.

"Well, that's all I wanted to say…" Mine said, pointing her finger at his face. "Don't expect something from me or anything, alright?"

"Of course you don't have to give me anything, Mine." Tatsumi said with a smile as he gently patted the pinkette's head. "I'll always be there for one of my girlfriends."

"Urgh, don't think you're off the hook, mister…" Mine groaned, sending him a displeased look before punching him on the chest, although it didn't do anything to him. "I still need to pay you back for embarrassing me in front of everyone! I had to limp my way to fight against those soldiers, you know! And it's all because of you."

Tatsumi only grinned in embarrassment.

"Well, I think it's about time that I formally introduce the newest members of our team to everyone else. The first one is…" Najenda said, pointing towards where Chelsea was just standing, but she was surprised when the auburn-haired girl wasn't there all of a sudden. "What the —?"

"Whoa Akame, your hair is so pretty…" Chelsea said as she ran her fingers through Akame's knee-length, jet-black hair. "You're actually really cute up close."

"This… came out of nowhere…" Akame said, feeling slightly uncomfortable in her presence. "Could you please —?"

"We've already met, but for everyone else, my name is Chelsea. I hope that we can all get along as teammates…" Chelsea said, smiling brightly as she briefly riffled through her pockets. Akame's eyes immediately sparkled when she pulled out two lollipops. "Here, one's for you."

"Welcome to the team." Akame muttered, rushing over as she snatched the piece of candy from Chelsea's hand.

 _"Damn, she figured out that the quickest way to Akame's heart is through her stomach…"_ Tatsumi thought, chuckling lightly as he watched Akame practically drool as she unwrapped the sucker before Chelsea joined her in eating. _"I can't really blame Akame for being hungry, that was a really long flight… but this Chelsea girl is interesting…"_

"What's the other lollipop for, then?" Sayo asked, noticing that she still had a sucker in her hand and she was already eating one.

"Here, handsome…" Chelsea said, throwing the lollipop towards Tatsumi, who immediately caught it with his hand as he looked back at the girl, only to see her winking at him in a playful manner. This caused Tatsumi to blush slightly as Chelsea grinned in amusement. "You might feel jealous that you didn't get any."

"Thanks… I guess…" he said in a slightly surprised tone before he shrugged and unwrapped the sweet candy and popped it into his mouth. As he began to eat, he couldn't help but glance back towards Chelsea in a curious manner, as he wondered if the auburn-haired girl really was one of their new recruits, since she looked like a simple schoolgirl from how he looked at her.

"Hey Boss, I want to ask something…" Tatsumi said quietly as he approached Najenda. "She doesn't really look like she's a better assassin than Mine, Leone, or the others… or is she hiding something behind that playful attitude?"

"Don't let her looks deceive you, Tatsumi." Najenda said with a smirk, crossing her arms over her chest. "She has the same number of successful assassinations under her belt as Akame, so she's not to be messed with."

"Seriously?" Tatsumi asked in a surprised tone, staring at Chelsea in awe. The young assassin started, but failed horribly, to imagine Chelsea as a trained killer, let alone one with as many confirmed kills as Akame, as he watched her continue to tease Mine. "That's both crazy and awesome at the same time…"

"And this right here, is the new teigu I was given by the Revolutionary Army's HQ." Najenda explained, as she walked up next to Susanoo. " _ **Speed of Lightning: Susanoo**_." With a grin on her face, the Boss patted the massive man on the shoulder. "He's a biological teigu who can move around on his own and follow orders, so he won't be a heavy burden to us. Kinda how like Seryu is with her dog, if you think about it."

"Well, we may have already met, but…" Tatsumi smiled, extending his hand towards Susanoo. "I look forward to working with you." Tatsumi's smile dropped when Susanoo's eyes suddenly widened in response. Then in a flash, the large man shot towards Tatsumi.

"Whoa! What in the hell —" Tatsumi suddenly stopped in his own words when he felt Susanoo tuck in a portion of his shirt that was sticking out just a while ago.

"There!" Susanoo exclaimed, looking relieved that he had solved the problem with Tatsumi's clothes.

"Oh yeah, I forgot…" the brunette muttered, sweat-dropping as he looked down at his now neatly, tucked-in shirt. "This dude is a total neat freak."

"So…" Leone said, plopping down onto a large tree root to rest for a bit. "What's this guy's main skill? Close-quarters combat or something?"

"Hehe, I'll just have to show you all to find out for yourselves." Najenda laughed, clenching her mechanical fist. "I suggest you all prepare yourselves for what you're about to see."

"What the hell is he gonna do?" Tatsumi thought, as he audibly gulped. _"While I was watching him fight earlier, he was really strong so… I wonder what other kinds of abilities he has…"_

"Do your thing…" Najenda exclaimed as she gestured towards the nearby clearing. "Susanoo!"

"Understood." the blue-haired man said as he dashed off in a blue blur towards the clearing. The rest of Night Raid's members then watched in a mixture of awe and utter confusion as Susanoo raced around the area, performing a series of chores from washing clothes and cooking to beginning the construction of a large cottage. The teigu's movements were incredibly fast and precise as he continued to do his work.

"Okay… this is really cool and all…" Spear said in a confused tone, rubbing the back of her head. "But what exactly is this?"

"Yeah Boss, it just looks like he's doing some housework." Tatsumi said as he pointed at Susanoo, who was already putting the finishing touches on the food for lunch.

"Exactly!" Najenda exclaimed, startling the other Night Raid assassins with her heightened voice except for Lubbock, who was hiding an amused smirk from everyone else. "Susanoo was originally created to be the bodyguard of a V.I.P. in the Revolutionary Army! While he may be constantly on guard to eliminate any possible threats, he's also equipped with the household skills to take care of his master's every possible need!"

"The boss is way too excited." Tatsumi thought, sweat-dropping.

"Cleaning, cooking, laundry… he does it all!" Najenda grinned in anticipation. "And he has over 1,000 recipes among his repertoire!"

"I'm sold!" Akame cheered, her eyes sparkling as she was already drooling at the thought of tasting Susanoo's cooking. "Welcome to the team, Susanoo!"

"None of the things you mentioned have anything to do with fighting, Boss." Mine said in an annoyed tone, releasing a light huff as she rolled her eyes.

"On the contrary, these are very useful skills… especially for us." the Boss smirked, before she crossed her arms over her chest. "And of course, Susanoo has a trump card when it comes to battles. Am I right?"

"Right." Susanoo nodded.

 _"So these two are our newest members?"_ Tatsumi thought as he stared at Chelsea and Susanoo. "I'll have to keep my eye on Chelsea for the time being… maybe the Boss was right and I am being fooled by her looks… and I've already seen how strong Susanoo is…" Tatsumi smiled slightly as he made his way over to his comrades. "I think this'll be fun, having new friends to bond with and look out for… almost reminds me of —" However, Tatsumi was cut off from his happy thoughts when he saw Chelsea once again teasing Mine, which enraged the pink-haired sniper, and Lubbock taunting Susanoo.

"Looks like our teamwork is gonna need a little work, though…" he sighed.

 **(Same Time; Jaeger's Meeting Room)**

"That idiotic man…" Esdeath muttered underneath her breath, tapping her finger on the table while she rested her forehead on her other hand. The Empire's strongest was currently waiting for Run, Bols, and Ren to finish searching through Dr. Stylish's room, since the man had been missing for almost an entire day, and had seemingly vanished without a trace. Although the others were hoping to find some kind of clue in his room, Esdeath already had a pretty good idea of what could have happened to him.

"We've completed our search of Stylish's quarters." Run said as he walked into the meeting room, with Bols following not far behind him. "But…" the blond-haired man sighed as he continued in his words. "We found no solid clues indicating his location, or what he was planning, but all of his precious study materials and necessary tools were still in his lab. So… he obviously didn't try to flee… and… the most likely conclusion to this is that he was killed."

"Judging by the absence of all his fortified soldiers…" Ren explained, with Bols slowly shaking his head to support Ren's claim. "They must have all been dispatched in battle, and nobody lived to tell about it."

"I already had a feeling…" Esdeath said with a light sigh, as she stood up from the table. "Gather the others here in an hour, I'm going out for a bit. I need to look for something…"

"Understood, General but…" Run replied, a curious expression appearing on his face. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you searching for?"

"Since Stylish died, he is nothing but weak and his kind needs to be filtered out of the world…" Esdeath said with a smirk, as she made her way towards the door. "We'll need someone higher than his calibre if we are to perform our duty well… so be prepared for whoever I bring back with me… a new Jaeger shall be introduced to the enemies of the Empire… when one falls, another one rises…"

 **(Ten Minutes Later; Capital's High-Security Prison)**

"According to the warden, this one is a highly-dangerous criminal who's been imprisoned for going rampant and wiping out a village near the Southern region… also the prime suspect for the killing 6 bandits near the border of the Empire…" Esdeath said, as she walked through the dark hallways of the prison's basement.

In her little quest to find a replacement for Stylish in her team, she needed another teigu user to be able to even be a part of the Jaegers. The Empire's most feared general had information that there was another one in the capital, but unfortunately, she was imprisoned and there was no way for her to be able to become a Jaeger.

However, Esdeath didn't want anything to stand in her way.

Walking through the dark corridors, Esdeath turned her head left and right to keep watch for the person she was looking for, as she also got other information picked up about her new potential member.

"According to this little thing…" she said, flipping through the pages of a small book she was holding before throwing it away. "She's from a burned downed village and was left to live on her own… the incident was too horrible for her to forget that she single-handedly killed and destroyed everyone in a small village in the —" Esdeath was then cut off from her words when she came across a cell with a little girl tapping her fingernails on the metal bars.

Taking a closer look, her clothes were completely torn apart, and almost the entire lower area of her body was fully exposed; countless scars, bruises, and burns could be seen all over her body. while bandages could be seen wrapped around her private areas.

Esdeath quirked an eyebrow as she inspected the girl; going a bit further up her belly and up to her chest was a mix of destroyed bandages and ragged clothing that didn't even do much to cover her skin anymore. Her white hair was messy and unkept, while her face was filled with various bruises and scars. The only thing that looked proper and well were the bandages wrapped around her arms.

" _I've found her… so this is the girl… I expected more than a little girl, but I believe that this one is hiding something… she may be even stronger than Stylish and his weak soldiers…"_ she thought with a smirk as she slowly approached the cell.

The girl, upon noticing Esdeath's presence, backed away from the metal bars with a scared expression on her face. Esdeath only smirked before she flashed a look of comfort. "I'm here to make it all better, little one." she spoke before freezing the entire cell door, shattering it apart with a single kick.

The young girl looked horrified as she scurried over towards the wall with eyes full of fear, letting out a scream.

Esdeath made her way inside the enclosed room and knelt down on the cold floor, outstretching her arms to either side of her body. "Come here, little one. I won't hurt you, I promise. Everything's going to be okay… I'll take care of you…"

The white-haired girl hesitated for a moment, before she slowly crawled towards Esdeath albeit in a scared way, checking to see if the general meant any harm to her. Eventually, the girl had reached Esdeath with no harm still happening to her, which got her to widen her eyes in shock.

"I shall protect you from everything that tries to harm you." Just from those words, the girl's eyes immediately got filled with tears as she hugged Esdeath, burying her face into the bluenette's shoulder, sobbing quietly.

Just outside the cell in the dark corridor heading to it, Wave made his way to where he had seen Esdeath go through, with Kurome following closely behind him. The two apparently saw the general leave the palace earlier and they decided to follow her since they thought she was distraught by the loss of their comrade, Stylish.

"Alright, let's do this!" Wave exclaimed, as he punched his fist into his palm. "I'm gonna talk some sense into the general!"

"I doubt you'll be able to do that, Wave." Kurome said, slowly shaking her head in disapproval. "You're not very good with words."

"I don't care." Wave said as he turned his head to grin at Kurome. "My mom always told me… when a girl's in the dumps… it's a man's duty to lend them a hand." Kurome's eyes widened slightly in surprise at Wave's sudden words. "I think she's up ahead!"

"Woah, maybe he's not such a country bumpkin after all…" Kurome thought as a small smile spread across her face.

"Okay, now's the time!" Wave exclaimed, as stepped just outside the cell where Esdeath was. "General! I'm here to talk —" Wave then stopped dead in his own words when he saw what was right in front of him.

Esdeath was holding hands with a little white-haired girl about the same height as Kurome, and the Empire's strongest looked slightly surprised as she saw two of her subordinates down here with her. "Wave, Kurome, let's head back to the palace… we'll be welcoming a new member of our team later on."

Seeing that he was already too late, Wave hung his head in defeat. "I… she… I didn't even… oh, come on man…"

"It's the thought that counts." Kurome said, patting him on the back.

 **(That Night: At Night Raid's Temporary Base)**

 _"I wonder if things are doing alright in the capital…"_ Tatsumi pondered, as he stared down into his drink. _"We won't be able to leave this place to do missions for a little while… and I can't help but worry."_ Releasing a light sigh after the thought of the capital being safe, Tatsumi took a sip of his drink.

"The reports we've received have all stated that the Jaegers have really been doing a great job curbing criminal activity inside and outside the capital." Akame said, sitting down next to her boyfriend. "They probably won't be making any moves until they get more accustomed to it, but with Stylish's death, they should lay low for a while like us."

 _"With how powerful they are, there's no way some petty criminals could stand against them even if there's someone crazy enough to attack the capital, though…"_ Tatsumi thought, remembering all the destruction the Jaegers had caused when they raided that bandit camp with him watching.

"Exactly, so we'll use this extra time to train before we start accepting missions again." Najenda said, clasping her hands on top of the table. "We're unable to ask for anymore reinforcements, so this means that Chelsea and Susanoo are Night Raid's final backup in this dark path. Let's all accomplish our mission and survive to greet the day of revolution!" The silver-haired woman's declaration earned a resounding cheer from the other Night Raid members, except for Susanoo, who merely nodded his head in agreement. Suddenly standing up from her seat, Najenda walked over towards Tatsumi and rested her hand on his shoulder. "It's time that we discuss what you mentioned about Esdeath. Follow me, Tatsumi."

"Got it, Boss." Tatsumi said as he stood up and followed Najenda to the back of the cottage.

"Huh? Where are they going?" Lubbock asked, watching his secret girlfriend leave the room with Tatsumi following closely behind her. The green-haired assassin quirked an eyebrow before he spotted Akame and Leone out of the corner of his eye, causing a sudden thought to jump into his mind and getting him to slam his palms down on the table. "He's not gonna make a move on Najenda-san, is he?! I'll kill him!"

"Calm your horses down, Lubbock." said Chelsea as she took a momentary break from teasing Mine. "Tatsumi and the Boss are just going to discuss something about Esdeath."

"And how do you know that?" Mine asked in an irritated tone, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well if you want to know, I overheard Tatsumi talking to the Boss about it before we came here. Something about Esdeath that only him and you guys know about…" Chelsea replied, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't know what the hell he's talking about, though."

"Then, he must be telling Najenda-san what he told us after he returned to us…" Lubbock muttered, staring down at his lap. "You know, now that I think about it, I wonder what would happen if he ever fights Esdeath again… he told us that he beat her when they were kids but what if they fight now? Can he still beat her even with Esdeath being considered the strongest person in the Empire?"

"Tatsumi can do it. I believe in him." Akame said as she rested her hands on the table and abruptly stood up from her seat. "If there's anyone who knows Esdeath better than any of us, it's him or the Boss. But since only Tatsumi is the active assassin between them, we have the answer." Akame closed her eyes and tightly clenched her fists. "If he can beat her once, he can do it again. And we must stand beside him to support him in this fight." Grabbing _**Murasame**_ , Akame then made her way out of the room. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some training to do while I'm waiting for Tatsumi to finish his discussion with the Boss."

"Akame's right… Tatsumi's one of the strongest members in Night Raid and I strongly believe he could defeat Esdeath when the day comes." Leone said, slipping out of her seat and following after Akame. "I better go with Akame, I think I could let out some steam…"

"Hmm, what about you, Sayo? What do you think? You've known Tatsumi the longest." Mine asked as she turned her head to face the dark-haired archer, who had been silent throughout the entire conversation. "Do you think Tatsumi can do it?"

"If Tatsumi had never been treated like a slave by his own parents, never been sent to that training camp, and if our village had never been poor, I think he can't." Sayo replied, tightly clutching her bow in her lap. "But those things happened and because of them, Tatsumi is so much stronger than he used to be. They gave him the drive to be stronger and grow up as a person. Without him, I would be dead right now, killed by some rich assholes in the capital." Raising her head, Sayo had a small smile on her face accompanied with her blush. "I trust Tatsumi more than anybody else, and I know he'll do anything he sets his heart to. So if he ever fights against Esdeath, I believe he'll come out on top and win."

"Yeah, I agree too… without Tatsumi, I'd be dead now and he's the type of person to never give up while in a fight. So I believe he can really take out Esdeath when he fights against her." Spear said, smiling slightly as Seryu nodded from beside her.

"Well, I think that finishes up this little discussion." Mine said with a hidden smirk, before she smiled. "I trust him to get the job done anyway… like what Leone said, he's one of our strongest members so… I believe in him."

Although quiet, Chelsea had listened to the entire exchange with piqued interest. The auburn-haired assassin rested her head on her palm as she stared at the door where Tatsumi and Najenda had just exited through. _"I don't get it… that Tatsumi didn't look all that special except that he's pretty hot… so why do they all have so much faith in him?"_ Rolling her tongue around the lollipop in her mouth, a small grin spread across Chelsea's face. _"Well, whatever it is, I guess I'll just have to keep my attention on him so I can see it first hand… this should be fun…"_

 **(Same Time: With Tatsumi and Najenda)**

"Alright…" Najenda said with a light sigh, slumping down into a chair. Taking out and lighting a cigarette, Najenda took a quick puff before finally speaking again. "Start talking Tatsumi. You said that you have something important to tell me about Esdeath? Well, now's the perfect time to let it out."

"Well, way before I joined Night Raid, I managed to encounter Esdeath, which all happened about 8 years ago at the Northern Region." Tatsumi revealed, which caused Najenda to quirk an eyebrow in intrigue.

"Now this is surprising indeed… I can't say I'm too surprised with this, since I was expecting something crazier, but… eight years ago, huh? That's a long time… but how exactly did you encounter her? Was it a simple glance or something more, like a battle?" she asked, taking another puff of her cigarette.

"Well, technically…" Tatsumi said, locking eyes with Najenda. "Our first meeting was at a small hotel in the Northern Region… our second meeting was the day after that, in a tournament being held there."

"Is that the case? And if I may ask, what were you doing in the Northern Region? What is this tournament that you speak of?" Najenda asked, leaning forward in her seat. "Knowing Esdeath, she is a woman who admires power and strength, so it won't be surprising if you say that she entered that tournament."

"Okay, uhm… first of all, that tournament had a huge prize for the overall winner, about six sacks full of gold and the one who comes out on top after all the battles will receive them. I was tasked by my parents and the elders to journey to the small village in the Northern Region where it was taking place and take part in it."

"So you got involved in that tournament just because your abusive parents told you to?"

"I'd have taken part in it either way, since I wanted to help my village in any way I can… so, we can say that my parents did me a favor." Najenda nodded in understanding, before Tatsumi continued in his words. "Anyway, I arrived at that village a day before the actual tournament and I had to stop for the night at a hotel there. And that's when I first met her… apparently she was joining the tournament too and they had to stop for the night as well… her father was with her, by the way."

"So what happened in that tournament you speak of? You didn't fight Esdeath, did you?" she joked, only for her to widen her eyes slightly when she saw the serious look on Tatsumi's face. "You're not kidding around, are you? You actually… fought Esdeath there?"

"That's exactly what happened… we both competed in that tournament… and we met in the final match. Long story short, we gave it our all in beating the hell out of each other, but I won in the end, and I got the sacks of gold for my village. We never saw each other again after that… until now."

"You fought her… while you two were still kids… I won't doubt your any word that comes out of your mouth, Tatsumi… but tell me, was she the same sadistic woman that the Empire knows, or perhaps, was she a calm fighter in her younger days?" Najenda asked in interest.

"I'd say I nearly lost to her at many points during our fight…" he replied, grinning in embarrassment. "But to answer your question Boss, then yeah… it was only thanks to my training that I survived against her… that woman literally tortured me when we fought and at one point, I thought I was gonna die."

The Boss nodded her head. "I see… well, I guess this sums up this little discussion… thank you for being honest with us Tatsumi… we must have earned a great deal of your trust for you to share this secret with Night Raid."

"Of course I trust all of you, Boss… you're all like family to me now, but… that's not only what I want to talk to you about."

"Oh?" Najenda said, taking a drag of cigarette before quirking an eyebrow.

"I also want to make a request."

"A request? Hm, there's no guarantee that it would be granted, but let's hear it." she continued, letting out another puff of smoke.

The look on Tatsumi's face became more serious. "When the day comes that the Revolutionary Army attacks the capital, I want nobody to get in my way when I face Esdeath. I request for you to let me take care of her by my own, without anyone's help. I'll be the one to fight her."

Najenda's eyes widened considerably as she spat out her cigarette before stomping on it. "Tatsumi, out of all the possible requests that you could've made, you choose that?" she questioned. "Do you have any idea on how dangerous it would be when you fight her? Regardless of the fact that you indeed fought and defeated Esdeath years ago, times have changed. She is, in fact, more dangerous than ever and it could be considered as suicide if you fight her, more so by yourself."

"I know that, Boss… and I know times have changed… but, I don't want to risk any more lives in fighting her. I don't want Akame, Mine, Leone or any of you to put yourselves at risk, but I'm not being arrogant here. If anyone's gonna face her, it's gonna be me. There's a reason why I am still alive right now, despite getting captured by her in the first place. So… I ask that you trust me in this, Boss… I have never asked you for anything before… so please just grant me this one request!" he exclaimed, tightly clenching his fists as a look of determination spread on his face.

The silver-haired woman looked at Tatsumi for a few seconds before she finally sighed in defeat, resting her forehead on her fist. "God… you kids give me too much headaches sometimes…" Najenda turned to look at him. "Alright Tatsumi, this is very risky and quite idiotic if I must say, but let's go with your plan. You take care of Esdeath and I'll do my best to prevent any person from getting close to that woman once the battle to overthrow the Empire commences… but keep in mind that I cannot stop some people from interfere, like Akame."

Tatsumi sighed as he could picture Akame insisting to either fight Esdeath with him or by herself. "I know all of that boss… and I'm prepared to protect Akame or any other person from Esdeath, I'll stop them myself if I have to." Tatsumi said, before a small smile spread across his face. "Besides, I promised her that I'd survive this war and live until the end… what kind of person would I be if I can't fulfill that? I swear on my life that I will… Akame… Leone… Mine… they're one of the reasons why I have something to live for in this world."

"Akame… Leone… and Mine, huh?" Najenda parroted, a smirk clearly appearing on her face. Tatsumi snapped his eyes open, immediately realizing his mistake as his face burned bright red in embarrassment. "So, there _is_ something going on between the four of you." Of course, she knew about Tatsumi's weird but working relationship between those girls because of Lubbock constantly informing her, and now she couldn't help but let out her humor towards him.

He paled. "W-What?! No! No, I mean… t-there's nothing going —"

"Don't bother denying it, Tatsumi." Najenda smiled, ruffling Tatsumi's hair slightly. "I noticed all the signs between you and those three. Mine, Akame, and Leone look so happy whenever they're with you, and I've never really seen them like that with anyone else before. Akame rarely shows what she feels, but she always smiles when she's around you and not to mention, she's a bit more open with us as of late. You've given Leone a reason to be more cautious on her missions, so that she can come back home to you, in your embrace. Mine, who is supposedly the most difficult to handle out of all of us, has a soft spot for you in her heart and she enjoys being with you. Just remember to always keep each other safe… you'll need to look out for each other to stay alive."

"I understand boss, I'll… I'll do everything I can to ensure that everyone survives this war… and not just us, but all of you as well. I won't let anyone else die." Tatsumi said with determination, narrowing his eyes as he nodded his head. "I love Akame, Mine, and Leone… I love them dearly and I'll protect them no matter what happens."

"That's good… I think you make a cute couple altogether." the Boss smirked, before smiling afterwards as she stood up from her seat. "Well, it looks like you have a tough job ahead of you, Tatsumi." she continued, before patting the brunette on the shoulder. "But you're one of my best assassins and I believe that you'll be can pull this off the way you want things to play out."

"Thanks, Boss." Tatsumi said, smiling.

"Heh, you're a really odd kid, Tatsumi." Najenda said with a smirk, putting another cigarette into her mouth before lighting it afterwards. "But it doesn't change the fact that you're special."

 **(One Hour Later: Night Raid's Hidden Base)**

"PAAAH!" Leone cheered on with a ruddy blush after taking a long swig of her beer. "That's some good shit right there! It feels way too good!" She continued to drink her beer with one arm, while the other was wrapped around Tatsumi's neck as she pressed his face deep into her cleavage, while he was just rolling his eyes in irritation. "I'm so glad the issue with that fucking doctor is over now!" Wiping the remaining foam from her lips, Leone leaned forward and whispered seductively into Tatsumi's ear. "When we're finally alone later, I'll show you just how much I missed being with you, Tatsumi."

The young man had to suppress a moan when he felt Leone began to nibble on his ear playfully.

"Leone." Akame said with a glare as she grabbed Tatsumi and hugged him possessively against her own modest bust. "I may have agreed to share Tatsumi, but no one will hog him to herself. Is that clear?"

"Why, Akame…" Leone smirked, sliding close to the red-eyed girl, her voice suddenly becoming low and husky. "Are you suggesting that we have… a threesome?" Leone leaned in closer and examined Akame up and down, making the latter blush in embarrassment. "I don't know… I've never been into girls, but…" A tingle shot through Akame's whole body when she felt Leone's finger slowly ran up her thigh. "You're really cute."

"W-What?!" Akame exclaimed, as her face burned near neon red. "I… I… I wasn't… i-it's not —!"

"Uh, girls…" Tatsumi said, waving his hands to try and break up the two before it would lead to more trouble.

 _"What's up with those two?"_ Mine thought, as she took a sip of her own beer, discreetly eyeing Leone and Akame. " _Are they that excited to spend some time with Tatsumi?"_ Mine's eyes narrowed some more, before she eventually sighed. _"I'd love to spend some time with him too, but…"_

"Hey, Mine…" Upon hearing Tatsumi's voice, the pink-haired sniper was immediately snapped out of her thoughts. "Do you know where Sayo went?"

"Uh… I think she said something about getting in some last minute target practice before she went to bed… and I think Spear went with her to train herself in how to use _**Extase**_ properly." Mine replied, rubbing her chin.

"Thanks, Mine. You should join us, though. We're all one big happy family now, " Tatsumi said, flashing a bright smile.

"N-No problem." Mine muttered, her face flushing slightly. "You should go back to them… I'm not feeling in the mood to hang out, anyway… after all, my ass is still kind of sore because of you." She glared at him and Tatsumi backed away slowly in fear of the pink-haired sniper, before she smiled and hugged him all of a sudden. While Tatsumi was surprised with her action, Mine had pulled away with the blush on her face still evident. "Go on, hang out with Akame and Leone… I'll be fine. I already had some alone time with you remember? Maybe next time, I'll join in." she winked, and it caused the brunette to gulp and nod slowly.

"Okay Mine, whatever you what to do…" he nodded slowly and walked away from her, feeling slightly disappointed that the pinkette isn't able to spend time with them but happy nonetheless that Mine is adjusting well to their relationship.

"Tatsumi." Akame said, offering her lover a large turkey leg. The red-eyed assassin had managed to get away quietly from Leone, and dug into the small banquet of food that was spread before them. Tatsumi couldn't hold back a chuckle when he saw that Akame was holding several turkey legs, along with the one that she was eating. "You'd better eat something before it's all gone."

"Thanks, Akame." Tatsumi smiled, taking the turkey leg that his girlfriend had offered him. As he watched Akame shovel food into her mouth, he suddenly remembered how Kurome had eaten in a similar manner back when he was captured in the capital. "The way those two eat food… they're definitely sisters."

Before Tatsumi could take a bite of his turkey leg however, he was pulled in between Leone's breasts once again, something he was becoming quite used to that he didn't even react anymore. "Mmmm, well since Akame's so busy eating, then I guess I got first dibs on the Ladykiller…" Leone purred into Tatsumi's ear, causing a pleasurable shiver to run down his spine before he rolled his eyes. The busty blonde seductively smiled, before tenderly running her hand down Tatsumi cheek.

Akame suddenly threw the turkey legs on her hand away in alarm as she pulled Tatsumi away from Leone and hugged him possessively. "I want to spend some time with Tatsumi as well. I'll get him first because it's been a long time since we did something together."

"Well it seems we're at an impasse here, because I'm not going to give up my alone time with Tatsumi, and I'm not in the mood to wait." Leone said with a mischievous smirk, leaning closer to whisper into Akame's ear. "So what are you gonna do Akame, because I'd rather this not turn into a fight between us. And we did agree to share Tatsumi, even if you're his first girlfriend."

"I… I… we… uhm… " Akame stuttered out, her face burning bright red as she began fidgeting in her own seat.

"Yessss…" Leone purred, the playful smirk on her face widening as she licked her lips in satisfaction.

Akame sighed in defeat.

"F-Fine… we'll do it y-your way…" she mumbled quietly, tightly gripping her skirt due to sheer embarrassment. "W-We can try a… a th-threesome…"

"Akame, you dirty girl…" Leone said in a seductive tone as she gently slapped Akame's shoulder before laughing at how the red-eyed girl must be feeling right now. "I didn't you had a playful side like this…"

"I don —!" Before she could speak any further, she was cut off when the busty blonde suddenly hoisted her and Tatsumi onto her shoulders, causing the Akame's face to flush bright red in embarrassment. Tatsumi only continued eating despite the position he was in, staying incredibly calm even with everything that just transpired.

"No backing out now, kiddies!" Leone exclaimed with a boisterous laugh, grinning widely afterwards. "We're gonna have some fun tonight! It's gonna be a blast, trust me!"

"Where are you guys going?" Mine asked, quirking a pink eyebrow at the unusual display. "And why are you carrying them like that?"

"Oh, Mine! I almost forgot you were here…" Leone replied with a toothy grin. "Me and these two are just gonna have some fun before we sleep… so I'm headed for Tatsumi's room. Want to join us? I won't mind because you're now a part of Tatsumi's little harem and…" she licked her lips sensually as she eyed Mine up and down. "There's always room for one more."

"Uh, no thanks…" Mine said as her face burned bright red in embarrassment. "You two can go ahead and have him, I'll be fine… I'm still a bit sore to do anything involving that, so you can go on without me. Okay, Leone?"

Leone's grin widened as she leaned closer to the pink-haired sniper. "Alright, Mine… but once you're all better, don't think you can get away from or any of us!" After letting out a loud laugh, Leone continued on her way towards Tatsumi's bedroom.

After the _**Lionelle**_ user had left, Mine sighed in relief because Leone didn't try to do anything with her. " _I really wanted to spend some time with Tatsumi, but I need to get used to this relationship… besides, he loves all of us and he won't choose one over the other…"_ she thought with a smile.

* * *

 _ **Well, that ends this chapter! I hope you all like the events that transpired, including the debut of our two new members. A new Jaeger has joined but what is her name and who is she? Next chapter is, hohoho, you know… it's obvious so prepare for a hot and steamy threesome! Hahaha!**_

 _ **I know it's unnecessary to add an opening song, but come on. This is exactly how I want AGK to be like in canon. Bear with it.**_

 _ **Harem (Final): Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **If you want to catch up with me and your other favorite writers, join our Discord server:**_

[discord . gg / uDxVym8]

 _ **To those who want to join our Akame ga kill server…**_

[discord. gg / VX6sVkq]

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	26. Kill the New Member SPECIAL CHAPTER

_**HAPPY NEW YEAR DUDES! WE HAVE AN EXPLOSIVE UPDATE FOR THE NEW YEAR!**_

 _ **IMPORTANT NOTE: I have noticed that many people have been messaging me to add Kurome, but I'm still not sure with it. I mean I'm interested, but I'm not quite sure. I'm leaving the decision to you guys, then. I have put up a poll in my profile and will be up for a month. Do you want Kurome to be added in the harem? Just answer yes or no in the poll. I have already come up with a plan for that to happen in case she does get added.**_

 ** _PLEASE VOTE IN THE POLL, I REPEAT. PLEASE VOTE._**

"Normal Talking"

" _Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters… I also don't own the song here…**_

* * *

 _ **-Start song (Fairy Tail OP 16 - Strike Back) -**_

 **Wooooaaahhh… wooaah… woooaaahh… woaaaoohh…**

 _-Tatsumi is standing on top of a hilltop as the sun starts to rise before it cuts to his face, with him closing his eyes_

 **(Strike Back!)**

 _-Tatsumi snaps his eyes open and slashes across the screen, and the Akame ga Kill! logo shows during the instrumental_

 **Kidō sura kae rarenai kurai no kakuritsuda to shite mo**

 _-The Emperor and Honest are standing on the palace's balcony, watching at the war between the Revolutionary Army and the Empire_

 **ippāsento demo areba mo chiron teikō desho?**

 _-The members of Night Raid and the Jaegers start walking towards each other, with Najenda and Esdeath leading their respective groups_

 **Shosen, 'unmei' to nagetsuke raretatte, No I Won't!**

 _-In the Jaegers' Meeting Room, Marina gets introduced to the other Jaegers and she smiles before she found herself staring at Ren_

 **Hikkurikaeshite, Because**

 _-Chelsea looks back behind her with a horrified look on her face as blood covers the screen_

 **datte kimi to mirai wo miretara saikō janai?**

 _-An lifeless arm covered in blood falls to the ground in a puddle of blood and images of Akame, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Spear, Sayo, and Chelsea appear one-by-one before a black boot stomps on the puddle of blood_

 **Bring it on! cuz I'm just gonna grow up in the battle HEY!**

 _-A young Tatsumi and Esdeath are shown fighting each other in the tournament at the Northern Region_

 **Buchi nuku donten! Still burning my fire**

 _-Back in the battlefield, Run flies through the sky and kills several soldiers from above_

 **ten wo kirisaku raimei**

 _-Ren and Bols work together with their flames to burn down and weaken the attacking army_

 **I gotta kakikesu**

 _-Wave fights and quickly wins against several rebels with his_ _**Grand Chariot**_

 **Nightmare tada mirai ga mitakute!**

 _-Kurome unsheathes_ _ **Yatsufusa**_ _and cuts down all the soldiers in her way while Marina, in her combat outfit, sliced her way through everyone with her claws as she slashes the screen_

 **Kako,**

 _-Tatsumi shows up with a determined expression_

 **mirai,**

 _-Akame is seen with a very sad look on her face_

 **soshite iki teru ima,**

 _-Kurome cries into Wave's clothes as she hugged him_

 **I ain't scared of my past and now for taku sa reta asu**

 _-All of the members of Night Raid charge on into battle, pulling out their respective teigus_

 **Screaming out for my pride!**

 _-Esdeath flashes a sadistic grin_

 **Namida mitakunai kara, sakebi tsuzukeru yo! Zutto…**

 _-Tatsumi wipes the tears from his eyes as he flew down the hilltop and zoomed towards Esdeath despite the icicles that she sent to attack him_

 **(I'm never falling down! Oi kaze wo se ni fukitobasu Destiny!)**

 _-Tatsumi and Esdeath fight each other at a very fast pace that no one could catch up with their movements_

 **Kono senaka ni aru,**

 _-Akame faces off with Kurome on opposite sides of the battlefield with tears in her eyes_

 **egao mamoritai kara!**

 _-The rest of Night Raid assemble in the battlefield and prepare to fight back_

 **Zutto…** **(I gotta blast off your pain for you and me!)**

 _-Ren is sitting in his room, alone, as he flashed a dark look while imagining how would it be like when he has Akame to himself_

 **(Kanashimi nante Rest in peace!)**

 _-Marina hugs Ren from behind and he is shocked, cutting off his dark thoughts_

 **Nando demo…**

 _-Tatsumi charges towards Esdeath one last time as it cuts to the sky, a shooting star seen visible as it flew through the air_

 _ **-End of song-**_

* * *

 **(That Night; Night Raid's Hidden Base)**

Leone kicked the door open to Tatsumi's bedroom, wasting no time as she slammed the door shut again and threw Akame and their lover towards the bed so she could lock the door. "I'm excited for this! Finally, we all get to spend time together!" she cheered on, making sure nobody was outside before she locked the door.

Akame landed on top of Tatsumi on the bed, but not exactly in a position that normal people would be in…

Tatsumi opened his eyes… only to see… white fabric?

" _What is this?"_ he thought to himself, before he pressed his nose against it, and only caused a moan to be produced out of nowhere. " _What the —?"_ he quirked an eyebrow and began to sniff out the thing in front of him. " _What a weird smell…"_ he said to himself before realization struck him as he noticed that his head was inside a shade of black cloth.

" _Uh oh… am I…"_ he thought, his eyes growing wide. " _AM I INSIDE AKAME'S SKIRT?!"_

After letting out a moan of surprise, Akame panted slightly as soon as she felt the thing pressing against her panties was gone, before she noticed her head was between dark green pants, and causing a massive blush to appear on her face. She turned her head back and saw that Tatsumi's head was inside of her black skirt and it made her shut her eyes tightly in embarrassment.

"Ooh, are you two doing that position?" Leone asked with a smirk, crossing her arms as she stared at the pair on the bed. Akame had turned her head towards her and Tatsumi had also turned his head to the side slightly, despite still being inside her skirt. "That's kind of unfair, you know? It only fits two people and I'll be left out…" she pouted cutely.

"AHHH, SORRY TATSUMI!" Akame squealed out, removing herself from her lover as she stood on the edge of the bed, tightly gripping her skirt as she had her head held low with a furious blush on her face.

"GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Leone started to laugh heartily like the cheerful girl that she is, clutching her stomach as she rolled around on the floor. "Oh, you two are a perfect match I swear! And Akame is just too cute when she's shy!"

Tatsumi seemed to be relieved now that Akame was no longer on top of him, before he looked to the side and sat up on the bed. "No, Akame… I'm the one who should be sorry… it was disrespectful of me to do that…" he muttered, looking genuinely embarrassed as well.

"Aw, stop would you stop acting like a pussy for once in front of a woman and focus on what's happening around you?" Leone smirked as she winked at Akame, who only nodded in response as she quickly got over her earlier embarrassment.

He looked up in confusion. "Huh? What are you —?"

 _ **[*Super Sexy Lemon Alert!*]**_

Tatsumi barely even had enough time to gasp as Leone kissed him gently on the lips and she was quickly followed by Akame with her incredible speed as the red-eyed assassin made her own move and began to deeply kiss Tatsumi as well. Both women were more than ready and eager to have their turn of fun with the young man who they both loved deeply in their own way. As the three-way kiss deepened for all of them, Leone and Akame knew that now was the time for them to make their move.

This night was going to be just about spending lovers' time with Tatsumi, nothing more and nothing less.

The two moved away and then removed their clothes; Akame had thrown away her tie, before pulled her dress up and off her body and let her skirt slip off her body. Meanwhile, since Leone had too little to wear anyway, she had simply removed her belt and the white cloth that she wore all over her body, leaving the two of them in just their underwear.

Both were as beautiful as the days where he had taken their virginities, and they look like they haven't changed one bit. That was not a bad thing though, as Tatsumi liked and accepted them for who they were. It didn't matter to him on how they looked like, because to him, they were both beautiful on the inside and the outside.

Actually wait, it was a bonus. He could be considered very lucky if another man had given their opinion of him, because he managed to make two hot-as-fuck bombshells to fall for him, per Lubbock's words. Tatsumi can't possibly imagine the desire of how many men to be put in the position he was in right now.

"You two… you're really going through with this?"

Choosing to respond through her actions, Akame moved first and removed Tatsumi's white sweater and his long-sleeved shirt while Leone removed his boots as well as his pants, leaving the brunette clad only in his undershirt and boxers. Tatsumi couldn't help but simply let them do what they want, too stuck in a trance where he was pondering over why would Akame and Leone do this for him.

The two girls looked at his cute boxers before they smiled and blushed at the same time, as they saw the evidence that Tatsumi was getting excited. The tent in his boxers was already huge and it was just going to get bigger later on.

Leone smiled seductively and spoke to her boyfriend.

"You look as hot and handsome as ever Tatsumi, but we can't stay dressed forever you know… what do you say, Akame?" she winked.

"Y-Yeah…"

The brown-haired assassin couldn't say another word as Leone and Akame removed their remaining clothes that only covered their chests and crotches, and with a few simple movements, both women were now gloriously naked before their loved one.

His eyes widened at what he just saw in front of him, not because of what was there, but it was because of the intention behind all of this.

Tatsumi could only gasp as both women were now naked before him, the sight of two curvaceous, well-figured and beautiful women naked before him was something he had never expected in his life as he looked at both Leone and Akame in the nude.

Akame was as well formed as ever; her perfect-sized breasts that perfectly fitted her slender, well-filled out and still curvaceous frame, and her skin was not too pale and was like white cream under the sun. No wounds or scars could be found on her body, and it proved how skilled she was in combat.

Akame had a very beautiful body, toned by her training and it still amazed Tatsumi that even in this moment, she looked like as if she was still an innocent young maiden. She was slightly smaller than him and as he started from her face, she blushed furiously before him as he observed her breasts moving up and down as she breathed; all the way down to her flat stomach, her womanly hips, her clear and shaven womanhood, and her shapely legs.

If it was just her and Tatsumi, she'd have no problem stripping for him. But the problem was that they weren't alone, and there was some company.

However, Akame wasn't going to let this hinder her.

For Tatsumi, he had to admit that Akame was still and will always be beautiful, right now and forever.

He had considered Akame as a weird and socially-awkward girl, yet he respected her abilities and he was very concerned for her well-being even with just the limited time that they had spent together. Throughout all the months that he had been with Night Raid, she was always there.

He once thought of her as an enemy that he needed to eliminate, but that had changed with one simple decision to join Night Raid. There were many things that he liked about Akame, but one of those things that stood out the most were her eyes.

Her crimson eyes that first told him of her being a killer who needed to die, but now, he couldn't help but admire them even more. They were beautiful and pure, in the same fashion that Akame was always a pure and beautiful girl, though how she had fallen for him was something that still made him think of very deeply to this day.

The fact that Akame had fallen in love with him shook him to his core as he had never expected it to happen. Akame was very different from him in terms of their personalities, which includes her being someone who preferred to hide their emotions from the world; but to know that she had somehow developed feelings for him and eventually love him, was something that made him feel very proud that he somehow got a mysterious girl like Akame to open up to him as well as honored that she trusted him as someone whom she could count and depend on at times when she needed it the most.

Leone was also beautiful, to the point that he had always how she had stayed a virgin until that day when they were in the bath together. In fact, when he first met Leone, the first notable feature that he noticed about was her enormous bosom.

Like Akame, she had a toned figure that was all thanks to her training and she had a slender body as well, with all the right curves and swells on her. Her breasts were full as well, which Tatsumi personally considered as the largest pair among all the females of Night Raid. She was a very attractive girl and right now, there was nothing more that shielded her body from his eyes and her smiling face had added fueled the situation.

He couldn't help but feel very much amazed by the fact that like Akame, Leone had a crush on him as well. But unlike the quiet and emotionless Akame, Leone was more open about it and she was willing to show to Tatsumi just how affectionate she was towards him.

The two women looked at the object of their affections and they could easily see from the way he was staring at them as well as the very obvious bulge in his pants that they had his full attention at this moment. Akame blushed at the way Tatsumi was studying her and Leone, and this was so unlike her normal self; she wouldn't be this way if she was alone with Tatsumi, not that her shyness would really be gone if that would happen, but more like it will lessen gradually. Leone on the other hand, smirked at the reaction she got from Tatsumi as it was her plan all along to make him feel good with someone by her side, and so far, this was working pretty well.

"Holy shit…" was all he could mutter out at his current state.

Akame blushed at the way that Tatsumi was ogling them but Leone patted her shoulder to keep her calm as they decided to let him keep on staring. Tatsumi honestly had no idea how to react to the sight of both Leone and Akame standing naked before him at this moment but there was no doubt that his body had more than one sign to state the situation before him. His heart rate rose, he felt his breathing become deeper, his blood flowed even faster, his body temperature was getting higher, and of course… his cock was full and erect.

He heard of what Akame and Leone were talking about earlier and he honestly thought it was just a joke, but now it seemed that this was out of the particular area of a joke and he only had one answer to all of this.

"Mission accomplished."

Leone could see that their actions had finally gotten through the young man before them and now was time to close in for the kill… she looked at the still-blushing Akame who was trying her best not to look away or hesitate. Grinning mischievously, the busty blonde gave her a spank on her left cheek, forcing Akame to get a move on and proceed with what they had agreed to do together.

Although… Leone had earned herself a quick punch in the stomach in retaliation for what she did.

As soon as they finally reached Tatsumi, they quickly made their move to remove his clothing; Akame took the honor of pulling his undershirt up while Leone started giving him seductive looks and running her fingers down his arms. She was about to take off his boxers but not before he finally gave in and groped both of their breasts with his hands.

"KYYYAAAAA!"

"Ahhh…"

Both Akame and Leone gave cries of pleasure at the sudden feeling of Tatsumi's hands on their breasts. Akame's left breast was being squeezed by his left hand and Leone's right boob was being touched by Tatsumi's other hand. While the two of them were blushing, he had already leaned forward and opened his mouth. The two girls quickly got over their embarrassment and kissed Tatsumi at the very same time, which was something that made all of them moan out at the pleasurable feeling that they were experience in the three-way kiss they were locked into.

Tatsumi had alternately slipped his tongue into both their mouths, attempting to pleasure the two of them at the same time. In turn, Akame and Leone took turns in playing with his tongue with their own, while also occasionally touching each other's tongues in the process.

Akame finally got his undershirt off of him and the second they saw his naked torso, Leone and her moaned as they began to rub their bodies against his own. Akame, having grown to actually _like_ the idea of sex, she moved away from the kiss and ran her tongue on Tatsumi's left cheek, licking his skin before going down further to his chin. Leone then made her own move as she finished her own kiss with him and made her way towards Tatsumi's ear, licking its entirety before sucking gently on his earlobe.

Tatsumi felt like he was going to fall into a lake of hot lava as he felt his body continuing to react to the two girls' actions by the moment. Akame licked his cheek and jaw while Leone nibbled and sucked on his ear, the two women then made their next move as they went lower and began kissing his chest and sucking his own nipples, earning a soft groan from him in return…

"Aaghh…"

Tatsumi felt his body react and grow hotter from all the pleasure he was getting at this moment. He looked at both Akame and Leone as he continued his actions to fondle and caress their breasts as they continued their actions on his body, the young man was in heaven as his two girlfriends continued with their actions until they reached his stomach.

When he started to alternately grasp and fondle both of their boobs, it was a different story as it got mewls of pleasure from the two girls. Leone and Akame slowed down in their actions, as Tatsumi's hands had suddenly distracted them from giving him their full attention.

"Ahhh, Tatsumi…"

"T-Tatsumi, your… your hands…"

Quickly getting back to their senses, they ran their tongues all over his body before they moved away a few moments later, reaching for his boxers and making Tatsumi as naked as they were before they looked at him with lustful eyes.

It was Tatsumi's fault for making them develop an addiction to him in sex, though.

Leone smirked seductively at once again seeing Tatsumi's naked form, as if it felt like she just had sex with him yesterday. She found Tatsumi's form to be very attractive, which was a very good complement to his personality. His toned and ripped figure was obviously a product of his training as a kid and managing to maintain it and keep himself healthy over the years was only a testament to Tatsumi's determination and burning will. The scars that he had all over his body made him look hotter, if possible.

While she found the idea of doing this with Tatsumi while Akame was around, she couldn't find fault in the idea, not after being able to realize just how much he meant to the red-eyed assassin; Leone was more than willing to let Akame have her fun, she was not a voyeur by nature, but the idea was rather tempting to do.

Like Leone, Akame herself was once again delighted at seeing Tatsumi fully naked in front of her; truth be told, she had never been interested in romance before, much less anything that concerned the topic of sex and intimacy. However, ever since she had lost her virginity to Tatsumi himself, she slowly came to like the sensations and ecstasy brought on by sex and she soon became a victim to her own private fantasies involving her and her lover.

If memory served her right, the first time she ever said a curse word was during their private time, where she lost it and just fell to the intense pleasure that she felt, letting herself get defeated in a battle she had no chance of winning.

The brunette eventually found himself unable to touch them as both Akame and Leone were once more close to him, their breasts pressing on his chest and the feeling of their marvellous globes on his body along with their nude forms made his body temperature climb up higher even more. Akame moved herself to kiss him from behind, allowing her to run her breasts all over his body while Leone did the same thing. It didn't take long before Tatsumi found himself being kissed by the two girls and the young man then found himself in a situation that he knew most men of his age would kill to be in…

He was sandwiched between two very beautiful and naked women with their sexy bodies rubbing all over him as well as having their breasts dragging all across his skin, Leone was enjoying herself immensely and so was Akame apparently. He was right, most guys would kill to be in the same situation he was in at this moment, and an added bonus was the fact that the women who were doing this at the moment actually loved him instead of just doing it for pleasure.

Tatsumi then felt Akame run her hands all over his back while grinding her breasts and nipples on his spine and kissing his shoulders, that and the feeling of Leone's own breasts rubbing on his chest while she kissed him deeply was heaven, but he was not going to remain idle for long as he had every intention to give the two women pleasure as they would do the same to him. If they wanted this to happen, he'll make it reality.

With that thought in his mind, he leaned forward, making Leone lean back in surprise. She wondered then and there just what Tatsumi was going to try to do, but she knew exactly that he was going to give her pleasure in return, and she was not disappointed in the least.

Tatsumi kissed her deeply, before making his way to her neck, licking her skin as well as kissing her neck gently along the way. Leone smiled as Tatsumi knew just what she wanted him to do, leaning her head back to give him better access to her skin, before she giggled when she felt his hands move to her breasts. The busty blonde couldn't help but moan out what she felt while being under his touch, with Akame giving her a look of envy as she wanted Tatsumi to do this to her as well.

"You're getting better, Tatsumi… I think there's a huge chance that… you can handle the two of us tonight…" Leone breathed out, noticing how Akame looked at her.

Tatsumi wasn't oblivious to this and he noticed Akame's look of jealousy; from another standpoint, both women were look him with very lustful and affectionate eyes, but he had to make a decision on who would be the first one between Akame and Leone. Since he was but a normal human being, he could only do one at a time.

He never wanted to choose, but he decided to focus first on Akame as he wanted to be fair; she was the first woman whom he developed a deep relationship with, deeper than the crush he used to have on Sayo back then. From the moment he had met her until their time together in Night Raid, Akame had always been inside his mind, whether it was her voice giving him advice on missions or just the thought of her beautiful smile welcoming him back every time he leaves the hideout. He would never admit it to anyone except for her, but he was glad that Akame was the one he fought during that day he met Night Raid.

Leone wasn't oblivious to it as well and noticed the way Tatsumi looked at Akame. She knew that her friend deserved this and she wasn't upset that she was not going to be pleasured by Tatsumi first, no. She knew that her turn would come, and that was enough for her. And perhaps, this could be her way of apologizing for taking Tatsumi's virginity from her.

"Go on, Tatsumi… you should have fun with Akame first…" Leone smirked, leaning away from him as she winked at the red-eyed assassin who was blushing madly. "I can wait, I'm not impatient like a certain assassin behind you…"

Tatsumi nodded and turned around, giving Akame a loving smile with a lot of lust underneath it, but he couldn't help himself with the way Akame looked at him. She was so beautiful but he was not going to rush this, and the idea of seeing the Akame in the throes of pleasure because of his actions once again was a massive turn-on for the young man. Tatsumi's arms wrapped around Akame, his hand on his back and one on her hip as he leaned forward, kissing her lightly on the lips. He then kissed her cheeks that were deep red from all her blushing, which he honestly found very cute.

"Ahhhhh~! give me… more… Tatsumi~~"

Akame moaned out cutely as she felt her body react to the way Tatsumi was touching and kissing her. She wanted this to be something she would never forget as long as she was here with Tatsumi, she looked to the side and saw Leone looking at them with eyes of longing as she began to play with herself, sending her a quick look of thanks as she turned back towards Tatsumi who began to focus his hands on her breasts.

"AAAHHH!"

Akame felt like she was in heaven as Tatsumi ran his hands on her breasts as she fell back on the soft bed inside the room. She cried out even more as her lover went deeper and ran his tongue on her stomach while fondling her breasts with one hand. His other hand ran around her whole body in the way she wanted and desired ever since she missed being in his arms. His tongue had reached her bellybutton, and he made sure to lick every bit of it that send tingles to Akame's core. His hands became adventurous as well, his fingers finding her erect nipples and proceeding to roll them over and over and continuing to make Akame feel good and satisfied.

"T-T-Tatsumi~ it… feels so… good~~" she spoke in a low but cute voice, causing the young man to smile warmly.

"I'll make you feel even more, Akame." he whispered into her ear, licking her earlobe afterwards.

He took the lead this time as he moved back to Akame's breasts, as soon as he was in front of the red-eyed beauty's bust, he licked her left nipple gently and made Akame cry out even more in pleasure at his action while his left hand had latched onto her right boob, continuing his actions with it earlier and it made the girl squirm a bit underneath him.

"Tatsumi… ohhh, please!"

Her particularly cute reactions had spurred him to do more of this to her in order to make Akame feel even more for her sake as well as his own. He then reached for her exposed pussy with his other free hand and he immeditely felt how wet she was down there, and he couldn't help but feel his body grow harder and hotter as he felt Akame's juices. As soon as he was satisfied making his lover cry out just by sucking and licking her nipples, he made his way to her snatch, placing soft kisses and licking her body along the way as he finally reached her clit.

Even though Tatsumi had already seen her naked a couple of times before, Akame blushed brightly at the way Tatsumi was looking at her sex so intensely and she tried covering her pussy with her own thighs. But that ended too soon when she moaned again, feeling his mouth on her thighs, gently licking and kissing her skin as she gasped out her pleasure at his ministrations.

"Tatsumi, ahh! Please… do it more~!"

Akame cried out louder that she had to cover her mouth as Tatsumi continued to lick, kiss, and tease her skin on her inner thighs, and she had no choice but to let out a muffled scream as she felt his hot breath on her dripping wet pussy. He then kissed her snatch gently, making the young woman cry out in ecstasy and bliss at the sensations that she felt coming to her, but she cried even louder when Tatsumi found her clit. Like their first time together, he knew just what would make her feel good.

"Tatttsssuuummiii~" Akame breathed out in a lower tone, trying to catching her breath.

The brunette kissed and licked her clit more vigorously, not disappointed with the reactions he had gotten from his girlfriend, as he could see that Akame was in heaven with her breathing starting to become heavy and erratic. He didn't stop there and continued with his actions to completely satisfy the both of them.

"AAAHHHH! DO IT HARDER! TATSUMI, MORE~!" Akame cried out as she grabbed Tatsumi's head and guided him to her pussy, allowing him to use his tongue as well as his fingers to pleasure her; his tongue made its way to her inner sheath's walls, causing Akame to arch her back off the bed while her screams became louder than ever when his fingers started rubbing her clit the way she wanted it.

It was not going to be long for Akame as she finally reached their limit. Throwing her head back, her crimson orbs snapped open as she hit her climax.

"TATSUUUMMIIIII!"

That was the only warning that Tatsumi needed as he prepared to meet his lover's impending climax. As she came, he lapped up as much of Akame's juices as he could, pushing his tongue deeply inside her pussy to take in more of the red-eyed assassin's taste, making her cry louder as she sprayed him with her orgasm.

As soon as that was over, Akame panted heavily in both happiness and enjoyment, but she wasn't satisfied just yet. She wanted his meat and she wanted it as soon as possible. Akame was never known for being a patient girl, and she certainly wasn't one during sex.

"T-Tatsumi…" she tried to breath out.

Hearing her call for him, Tatsumi smiled as he kissed Akame deeply and she didn't hesitate to return it despite the fact that she could taste her own juices in her lover's mouth. In fact, the taste of her own self mixed with Tatsumi's own taste was had a very arousing effect on Akame as she felt herself getting turned on even more.

He soon separated from her lips and smiled warmly at her, staring into Akame's beautiful eyes.

"I know you're eager to have sex, Akame… but I have to do Leone too, okay? Just be patient for a while, Akame. I'll be back." he told her, planting another quick kiss to her lips.

"You… better be quick, Tatsumi…" Akame moaned out as Tatsumi began crawling away from her, leaving the red-eyed assassin to start fingering herself to recreate the feeling of his tongue being inside her.

Tatsumi decided to surprise Leone, who was still playing with herself and was too preoccupied to notice him, as he leaned forward to lick her still-dripping wet pussy as well as her clit. While she was in agony watching Akame and Tatsumi earlier, Leone had reached her own climax but she managed to shut herself up to avoid disturbing the two from their time together.

His action was more than enough to arouse Leone and finally get her to notice him, much to her joy that her lover was going to give her the same treatment he gave Akame. Tatsumi then moved forward to kiss her deeply and she moaned in return as she wrapped her arms around the young man that she had fallen in love with as time passed.

Unlike Akame, Leone showed her feelings more often and liked to blabber it out, leading to her being the one to take Tatsumi's virginity instead of the red-eyed beauty who had just became his girlfriend at the time. She made it clear that she was interested in him, and in return, it led to this moment. Leone was also the one who had suggested to Akame that they share Tatsumi, proving how determined she was to be with the brunette despite everything and it was more than enough to show him how far she was willing to go for him.

As they parted from their long kiss, Leone blushed at the way Tatsumi looked at her and she smirked.

"Tatsumi, you know… you feel so good on top of me… how about we have some fun?" she said seductively, winking at him.

He smirked in return and kissed her quickly.

"I'll make you feel even better then, Leone." he whispered to her ear, sending tingles to her spine.

Leone could hardly wait for him as Tatsumi pushed through with his plan to pleasure her deeply as he ran his hands on her body from her breasts, all the way to her hips and then to her thighs, all while he kissed her on the lips once more. He knew Leone was a wild one during sex, so he did the right thing by making their kiss a lot more ferocious and savage than when he was kissing Akame.

"Mmmmmm!" she muffled out inside his mouth, unable to get the perfect words to describe what she felt right now, as she simply relished in the feeling of being kissed roughly by the man she had intense feelings for.

As soon as he was done ravaging her lips about a minute later, he made his way to her enormous breasts and began to sucking on her right nipple like a wild animal while massaging her left breast with his free hand to make sure that he was able to pleasure the busty blonde to the max and make her feel full.

He did his best to please her breasts and nipples with his hands and mouth as he silently moved his free hand down towards Leone's pussy and once he made it there, he noticed that she was got even wetter than before and she was eager for more, like Akame. He smiled at her body's reaction to him before he finally moved his mouth towards Leone's left breast, doing the very same things he did earlier to ensure that she becomes fully satisfied before he'd proceed with his next action in his mind.

Leone moaned deeply at the pleasure that coursed through her body at Tatsumi's actions.

"Ohhh~ you've really… gotten better Tatsumi… I'll have to… even up my game next time~~" she grinned lustfully, running her fingers wildly all over his brown hair.

Tatsumi smirked as his attention was fully turned to both of her breasts while he used his two of his fingers to gently push into Leone's wet pussy, causing a loud moan close to a scream to come out from the girl's mouth. Due to her wetness, his digits were able to easily slide inside her without difficulty and begin his work on making Leone feel good with his actions. His thumb had also found her clit and pressed on it, making the blonde woman all the more aroused as she moaned and squirmed at the overwhelming sensations that were hitting her.

"Yes… give me more, you beast… Tatsumi~"

The brunette was more than willing to comply with Leone's request of him as he finished ravaging her breasts and moved to her lower half, kissing her stomach along the way just like he did with Akame. His hands had found their way to her thighs until he finally reached her wet and throbbing pussy, taking in its sweet scent as he grinned widely. With that in mind, he began to make his move and licked Leone's clit like a lollipop, making the blonde priestess cry out in pleasure at the sensations that flooded her body.

"Yes… YESSS~! GIVE ME MORE, TATSUMI!"

Tatsumi held onto Leone's hips as he licked her clit vigorously, and Leone cried out as she grabbed her head and encouraged him to do it faster and harder, as she didn't want him to stop what he was doing to at this very moment, and neither will she have him at a slow pace, no. Tatsumi got her hint and continued to pleasure her clit but this time, his free hand pushed in three fingers inside her pussy, making the busty blonde cry out louder in even greater pleasure and bliss, loving every second of this.

Like Akame, it wasn't going to be very long until Leone finally screamed out in pleasure as she felt her second orgasm for the night push her to the edge with the force of a tidal wave and it was something that she was quick to enjoy for all it was.

"FUCK! AHHH, TATSUMMIII!"

Those three words were enough to warn Tatsumi of Leone's incoming climax as her body twitched and he felt her juices flow out of her pussy. He quickly pulled out his fingers and held out his hand just outside her snatch, getting some of her juices on it. He separated from her clit and looked at Leone underneath him, who was tightly shutting her eyes and her mouth was hung open in total bliss as she continued to shake in the throes of her passion.

As for Leone, she felt like she was riding a wave of pleasure and warmth that kept flowing all over every fiber of her being and that was something that she wasn't going to forget as long as she would live. Additionally, the next few licks she felt from Tatsumi down in her womanhood were more than enough to make her feel even happier for the pleasure that her lover had given her in their time together.

Tatsumi moved back and allowed Leone to absorb the pleasure he had been able to give her, and in truth, he needed to calm down as his cock felt so hard that it was a miracle that it didn't feel like a heavy steel rod at this very moment.

Akame panted as she enjoyed the pleasure of playing with herself that it brought her to a second climax, but she wasn't satisfied there. She still needed Tatsumi badly, and it was there that and Leone and her were able to look at Tatsumi who was sitting on the opposite end of the bed, breathing deeply a few times to take a quick rest. Both women then saw that Tatsumi's cock was starting to soften and neither of them were in the mood for this to end so soon and that was the moment when they both smiled and started crawling towards Tatsumi's direction.

He turned his head to look at then and saw both Akame and Leone heading in his direction; the sight of both women moving towards him in such a seductive manner was more than enough to get him aroused as he felt his cock harden despite the fact that the rest of him was screaming for some decent minutes. He was caught off guard with Akame, though. He had never seen her act like this before and if he could comment, was it even Akame who was with Leone in front of him? The red-eyed beauty was never like this back then.

The sight of his cock hardening again was the signal that both Akame and Leone were waiting for as they closed in on their target. They were not going to let the whole thing end this early, not by a long shot, there was still plenty of time for them to truly enjoy being with the man they loved and they were going to use every moment of it to their best efforts as much as they can.

Tatsumi waited for about a minute or two, and it was not long for both girls to be there before him and despite the fact that both assassins were blushing, he could see it in their eyes that they were eager for more from him and he could only hope that he would be able to deliver to them exactly what they wanted and more.

Both Leone and Akame smiled warmly at him, the two of them kissing his cheeks as they finally reached him. The two women decided to make Tatsumi smile even more as they wordlessly showed their love for him by running their hands all over his body as well as rubbing themselves against his skin, creating pleasure and a wave of new sensations for the three of them. This action made Tatsumi finally moan out again in pleasure for their actions as he felt his heartbeat go faster than ever.

"Ahhh…" he groaned out softly in response.

The two proceeded to making their move with the busty blonde straddling Tatsumi's head and allowing him to lick her and suck her pussy however he wanted. Meanwhile, Akame pushed down his cock flat on his body as she straddled his hips and as soon as she was in the position that she wanted, she aligned her hips over Tatsumi's manhood and grinded her pussy on it back and forth, and just the feeling of it was more than enough to make the young man cry out even louder in pleasure which that was enough to send continuous waves of pleasure through Leone's whole body due to the vibrations that she felt from his tongue with his actions. Akame would've opted to just slam his cock into her, but she had to control herself and her actions so they wouldn't go too fast or too slow. Plus, it would be unfair of her and she knew that she should be playing fair with others when it comes to being with Tatsumi.

"L-Leone~~! Akame~!" he said, his voice being muffled because of Leone being on top of his face.

"Oh, just shut up and keep on eating me out, Tatsumi!" she exclaimed, wriggling her hips so he could take in more of her and his tongue reached deeper into her as a result. "AAHHHH! Sooo… gooood!" Leone then started to grope her own boobs and roll her nipples around with her thumbs, arching her back as her tongue stuck out with drool coming out of her mouth.

Tatsumi could only lick, suck, and kiss her pussy as well as her clit, unable to do anything else with his lifeless arms on his sides. Leone loved every second of it while Akame loved the feeling of her lover's cock rubbing her lower lips and her clit as her action of grinding herself over his cock made her wetter all the more. She was eager for more and this was giving her just that. The two women continued with their actions to bring their lover to one glorious release, and they didn't bother crying and screaming out the pleasure that they were feeling at this moment and more.

"TATSUMI~!"

Akame and Leone called out at the same time, throwing their heads back as their tongues were sticking out of their mouths in sheer ecstasy. Tatsumi on the other hand, wasn't going to be left alone as he also felt the continuous waves of pleasure that Akame brought to him on his erect manhood, grinding herself faster against him.

"Akame! L-Leone! This feels so good!"

At their current pace, it wasn't long for the three of them to reach their respective orgasms.

Leone cried out her lungs first before Akame did as they both felt their orgasms hit them. Tatsumi did likewise, his cock firing out his cum onto his body, and some of it had also gotten on Leone's back. The busty blonde moaned loudly as she felt his hot sperm drip down her skin as Akame and her also unleashed their own juices in the heat of their orgasms.

Tatsumi lapped up Leone's juices immediately outside her pussy as well as some that got on her clit, which was something that the busty blonde liked very much that she giggled like a schoolgirl as she felt his tongue roam all around her lower regions. Meanwhile, Akame had leaned down to lick the cum off her boyfriend's abdomen, not wanting any drop to be put to waste as she treated it like how she would treat meat.

As they felt their orgasm finally passing, Leone and Akame got off Tatsumi and licked up his remaining cum as a way to thank him for all the things that he had done to make them happy throughout this night. It was also then that both assassins decided that now was the right time to give Tatsumi something for him to enjoy in return, as the two looked at each other and their gazes met.

Leone had managed to whisper it to her friend into doing it while just earlier and while it was outright scandalous in the mind of the normally stoic and sometimes timid Akame, the idea of making Tatsumi all the more eager during their lovemaking was something that she wasn't going to turn down even if it was something she had never done before or had ever dreamt of doing in her entire life.

Akame was not unfamiliar with what they were about to do however, she had heard that some women who weren't comfortable being around men and preferred doing it with their women partners, while there were also times that some women did this together with a man to further add fuel to the whole experience. She had once nearly experienced this but that was a story to be told for another time. In truth, this was going to be the very first time that she had ever done this with another girl and despite feeling very self-conscious, she was willing to do it if it would make Tatsumi happy in return.

Leone herself had heard of it and she had to admit to herself that, despite her eagerness earlier, she was a bit nervous in doing the whole thing herself. However, unlike Akame, she was more than willing to try this out to make sure Tatsumi would be more eager and energized for the final part of their special night altogether. Even though she wasn't experienced in this, Leone knew more than enough on what she should do during this act and now that she was ready, so was Akame…

It was time to go for the kill!

Leone mouthed something to her best friend and Akame blushed deeply first, before she finally nodded and she spoke to Tatsumi.

"T-Tatsumi?" Akame asked, trying her best to put up with her stoic attitude.

"Y-Yeah?" he replied, turning his attention to the red-eyed assassin. He was still recovering a bit more from the first release that he had gotten for tonight, and he knew that it won't be just one for long when they get to the main event.

Akame blushed, losing her stoic nature with every passing second as she delved deeper into embarrassment. "L-Leone… Leone and I want you to see this… I… we hope you like it."

Tatsumi, struck by curiosity, wondered what she was talking about as he sat up and propped himself up on his arms behind him, just as both Leone and Akame found themselves sitting in front of one another.

The two girls looked at one another as the red-eyed beauty gave the final signal by nodding as Leone decided to stop fooling around as she moved forward and gently kissed Akame's cheek, which alone was enough to get Tatsumi's full attention and he turned his full attention to them with wide eyes.

Leone was then kissed on the cheek by Akame in return, and the busty _**Lionelle**_ user took it even further as she reached out with her hands and began to fondle Akame's breasts before she turned her head slightly to speak with Tatsumi.

"Oh Tatsumi, have you ever wondered how women spend time each other in situations like this?" she purred out with a grin. "Well guess what, I just spoke with Akame and we've decided to show you… so you better prepare your eyes, big boy… no other man will get see this other than you…"

Tatsumi was stunned and he could only look on in shock, he had read something like this in one of the books in the village and he had heard of it since Ieyasu was once big pervert while they were still living together in the village.

Although he had 3 girlfriends at the moment, he had said to himself that it would never happen to him because an assassin's pride was considerably high for Leone, Akame, or even Mine to do it. But now it seemed that his words on that particular matter were turning out to be all a lie as he was seeing it before him.

Akame and Leone leaned towards one another and began to play with each other's breasts before him and he could only look on in awe and obvious arousal as he felt his cock become harder and more eager for action. However, he decided to do his best to restrain his hormones as he realized that he was being given a special privilege by both his lovers so he should do the right thing and just observe as well as enjoy it.

Akame blushed deeply as she turned to see that Tatsumi was staring intensely and was heavily interested in what they were doing before him, and while she was still very much embarrassed by the whole idea of doing this with Leone for Tatsumi to see, she was happy that her boyfriend wasn't looking away in disgust or displease. It meant he was enjoying it and she wouldn't have it any other way. She moaned softly as Leone grinned before beginning to use her hands a bit more forcefully on her breasts, and she felt that she should make her move as well, causing her to replicate the busty blonde's action.

"Oh, God…"

"Ohhh, Akame…"

Leone smiled lustfully as the shy Akame got into the act at this moment and she figured that it was now the right time to give Tatsumi a real show. With that in mind, she took Akame's head in her hands and started moving closer towards her until there were only mere inches separating the two of them; she winked at Tatsumi as she noticed Akame nodding, before Leone closed the gap and the two of them kissed one another passionately.

Tatsumi's eyes widened even more at the sight before him as his two girlfriends kissed deeply, and he could see that the action was quickly turning from a simple meeting of the lips to a grueling duel of tongues as Leone and Akame were getting deeper and too far into the liplock before him. It was taking all of his still-present self control from losing himself to the stimulation that he was getting at the arousing sight before him at this very moment. Akame and Leone weren't oblivious to it and they could see that Tatsumi was enjoying this, and that alone told them that they should keep going as the blonde woman moved her mouth towards Akame's breasts, beginning to lick, suck, and kiss them over and over, which made Akame even wetter than before with every passing second.

"AAAHHHHHH~! L-LEONE!"

Akame was not far behind in her own actions as she moved forward to do the same thing as soon as Leone stopped in her actions to lean back and let the raven-haired girl pleasure her. Akame took her turn as she licked, sucked, and kissed Leone's own breasts as payback and to give Tatsumi a good show. Both women were blushing but they turned to see that their audience was enjoying every second of this, which caused Akame to smile and that was enough to convince her that this wasn't such a bad idea after all as she continued to pay direct attention on Leone's boobs.

"AKAME! IT FEELS SOOO GOOD~!"

The sight before him was enough to make Tatsumi happy and aroused that he didn't interrupt the two of them and simply looked on at Akame and Leone, who were in the midst of kissing one another again while rubbing their sweat-covered bodies together, allowing their breasts to rub against one another as well, their erect nipples meeting each other as they breathed in and out.

"This… feels… good…" Akame breathed out as she started to use her hands to direct the movements of her breasts to meet Leone's, too lost in her own cloud of lust .

Tatsumi looked on and moved a bit closer to see more, and it was then that both girls decided to put more effort in their little mission as they repositioned themselves carefully with their pussies and clits touching the other's own, causing the two to screamed out louder at the sensation they caused. As soon as they were done, Leone and Akame started to go slowly as Tatsumi continued to watch with a lustful gaze, slowly losing himself by the moment.

"Move your hips with mine, Akame…" Leone moaned out into their kiss, wrapping her arms around her friend's neck.

Akame and Leone moved their hips together while grinding their pussies and clits against one another, with the sounds of their sweaty bodies meeting each other filling the room and it served to excite both women and Tatsumi as well. He moved closer to see the whole thing for himself, and the sight of two women making out while touching each other's breasts and rubbing against each other's pussies was something that utterly fascinated and aroused the young man as he looked at the moaning, sweat-covered faces of both Akame and Leone. He moved closer and pulled their heads towards him in another three-way kiss that served to fuel their desire for more.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!"

"YEEEESSSSSSS!"

Both women cried out in even greater pleasure and enjoyment as they continued to move their bodies on one another while Tatsumi felt their sweat-covered breasts on his chest as he began to kiss Akame and Leone gently with them desperately wishing for him to join while they continued to pleasure one another as they felt that they were both close. It was therefore not long before the two of them finally reached their limits as they reached their limits at the very same time.

"I'M CUUUMMMMMING!"

The results were evident as both Akame and Leone tensed up, arching their backs and separating from the kiss as they both felt their orgasm hit them like a tsunami and they felt their juices flow out of their pussies and into the bed itself. Akame couldn't take it for a few moments and leaned on his shoulder for support as Tatsumi looked at the two of them in utter awe. Leone panted and leaned on his other shoulder, before looking at her lover and asked him a very simple yet direct question.

"Did you like the show me and Akame did for you, Tatsumi?" she smiled playfully, her hand going down to play with his hard cock as she waited fore his answer.

Tatsumi grinned in response. "Even better! I loved it…" he kissed the top of the blonde girl's head and chuckled slightly.

Leone smiled and spoke to Akame afterwards. "See that, Akame? I told you that Tatsumi would love the show we made for him, you shy but dirty girl…" she said with a smug grin.

Akame then spoke as she managed to get her breath and senses back, turning her head up towards Tatsumi with a cute look on her face.

"Y-Y-You really liked it, Tatsumi?" she asked in a cute, quiet tone.

Tatsumi only replied with a deep kiss to her lips before whispering into her ear.

"You were incredible, Akame."

The red-eyed assassin only blushed deeply as a result.

Tatsumi then kissed Leone deeply afterwards as he said the very same words to her as well. That was enough to make Leone smile brightly as she hugged Tatsumi tightly, prompting Akame to do the same, eventually resulting in them once more doing a three-way kiss that allowed their bodies to be together; the brunette could feel their clits grinding against his rock-hard erection, which got him to groan into their liplock as he wrapped his arms around both their necks. Akame and Leone both reached down with one hand to touch and play with his cock, sending tingles to his very core as he alternately shoved his tongue into their mouths.

However, much to the surprise of two others, Leone had parted from them with a mischievous smile. "Hey, Tatsumi… I think it's time we get on with the main event, you know? I can tell you want to go for it and… I think Akame should go first."

Akame could only blush deeply and leave her mouth hanging in shock as Leone smiled at her.

"You said you wanted to spend some time with Tatsumi, right? Knowing you, it'd kill you if I make you wait any longer…" Leone shrugged, laughing like her old self afterwards as she leaned down beside them on her side. "I can wait, so go give our resident glutton what she wants, Tatsumi!"

Akame blushed even more and looked at Tatsumi who turned his attention to her, and the girl could do nothing but smile, as if she was trying to invite him to go and make love to her. Tatsumi saw that, and he could only smile back, getting her hint as he slowly pushed her down on the bed, his arm around her soft back while the other on her left arm.

Leone decided to pleasure herself with her hands for the time being while the two lovers got back to touching, teasing, and tasting one another deeply as the young man kissed the red-eyed assassin deeply while gently running his hands on her body to ensure she would be fully satisfied with everything that was happening. He then used pushed his tongue into Akame's mouth, teasing and playing her tongue until she was blushing at the newfound waves of pleasure that hit her body as she made out with her boyfriend. From there, Tatsumi finally decided to get down to the more interesting parts of this night as he held her thighs.

Akame didn't resist at all and helped him part her thighs to expose herself to Tatsumi once more, looking up at Tatsumi who could only drink in her beautiful form through his emerald eyes; she was hungry for the release once more and only this time, she wanted to feel Tatsumi's cock deep in her body, she wanted it so badly that she quickly grabbed his cock and guided him to her exposed pussy.

Tatsumi snapped out of his stupor and positioned himself between Akame's thighs as she wrapped her legs around his waist, locking him in place and preventing him from getting anywhere. He then looked at Akame, who quickly nodded in response, her face that showed eagerness and hunger looking beautiful in his eyes. The same went for Akame as she gazed at Tatsumi's well-formed body as well as his face, his brown hair looking like a lion's mane in the moonlight, his skin with an utterly delicious bronze tinge and his striking emerald eyes, making her drool and even more eager to have sex with him.

Tatsumi made his move as he moved his hips forward, his rock-hard cock going inside Akame's pussy as he slowly pushed his cock deeper and deeper inside her.

"AAAHHHH!"

"Akame…"

Tatsumi relaxed himself now that he was finally inside of her and began to move his hips, pulling out from Akame's womanhood, making the young woman moan out deeply in pleasure as he moved until he was nearly out of her hot pussy. Akame's crimson eyes snapped open as a cry of pleasure escaped her lips when he drove back into her at a faster pace, reaching deeper into her inner walls in the process. Akame cried out even more at his movements and she held onto Tatsumi's arms to keep herself from moving as she felt each movement of his cock in and out of her pussy send waves of heat and pleasure all over her body.

"YES! DO IT FASTER, TATSUMI!"

Tatsumi grinned in response as he grabbed onto her legs, picking up the pace of his movements and it was not long before the red-eyed girl felt the need to move as well; she then moved her hips to meet with every thrust that Tatsumi did, and it was not long before the two of them moved in perfect harmony. Akame had no choice but to scream out in ecstasy and joy as her lover's cock moved faster and deeper into her womanhood and her inner tunnels, reaching a new depth every time he thrusted into her.

"TATSUMI~! THIS FEELS SO GOOD! AAAAHHHHH!"

Leone then surprised the two by joining in as she moved behind Tatsumi with a playful smile and began to rub her body on his back, before kissing him deeply when he turned his head around to face her. Flashing a smirk, she also started running her hands all over his chest as well as his shoulders, attempting to help Tatsumi to achieve another orgasm. The busty blonde woman had no desire to be left on the sidelines as she had faith in her own actions to please Tatsumi and it seemed that her attempts looked well-effective.

Tatsumi gritted his teeth and barely managed to contain in his emotions as well as his red-hot passion as Leone and Akame were continuously trying to push him over the edge. The feel of Leone's well-formed naked body on his back was so amazing as well as the feeling of her lips and tongue on his shoulders, while his manhood entering Akame's soft and hot pussy and just the sight of her breasts bouncing in unison with each of his thrusts was something that was going to be burned into his memory for a very long time.

Perhaps it was something that he would never forget until he dies.

This went on until Tatsumi was moving his hips quickly, plunging deep and fast into Akame yet in a loving manner careful enough not to hurt her too much, making Akame arch her back and throw her head back. This prompted Tatsumi to squeeze her breasts and pinch her nipples slightly, driving her over the edge and it also got to him. The heat, bliss, pleasure, and joy flooded her body as it did Tatsumi until finally, both came to their release at the same time.

"AAOOOHHH, TATSUUMMIIII!"

"OOOH, AKAAMMMEEE!"

Akame cried out as her body exploded in pure ecstasy at another orgasm, yet it was very different as she felt her body being filled by Tatsumi's own cum; the thick, hot liquid filled her pussy deep as she felt it flow inside her, her body twitching in reaction to it. It drove her mind to the highest reaches of heaven in that moment as her body tensed up, and she could feel the young man's cock fire more ropes of sperm into her womanhood, filling her up even more with his essence that it reached her womb. It was something that she deeply enjoyed at this moment as she looked at Tatsumi, who was panting from his own release. The young man felt like he was in heaven as he chuckled and leaned down to kiss Akame deeply while moving his hips a bit more to burst out the rest of his cum into her pussy.

"Tatsumi…"

"Akame…"

The crimson-eyed assassin blushed as she closed her eyes to relax her breathing as Tatsumi allowed her to catch her breath, and it was when he was finally out of Akame's snatch that Leone whispered into his ear from her position.

"Now, it's my turn Tatsumi…" she whispered, licking his earlobe playfully that sent a few shivers down his spine.

As Akame slowly moved away, Leone positioned himself to be in front of Tatsumi and gently pushed him down to lie on the mattress so he could rest, before making her move by kissing him deeply while grinding her body against his, just like what she did to his back earlier. It didn't take long before he responded to her actions by kissing her back and ran his hands on her nude body, recalling the lush curves and swells on her form as they made out passionately. That was enough to get Tatsumi back in track as he felt his cock harden once again before resting his hands on Leone's plump ass.

Leone also noticed that as she continued to touch her lover's solid form with her hands and tongue as well as her lips, she felt her body get even hotter and wetter the second she felt her boyfriend's cock harden between her thighs, right under her dripping wet pussy. The blonde woman felt her desire grow as she quickly positioned herself over Tatsumi's now rock hard cock and slammed herself down without hesitation, moaning loudly in pleasure as she felt her lover's manhood part her lower lips and destroy her inner walls like a spear.

"FUCK~! THIS FEELS TOO GOOOOOOD!"

Tatsumi's mouth hung open as he moaned and felt his dick enter Leone's pussy which was as wet, soft and hot as Akame's that it totally blew his mind to be feeling this again in less than three minutes. However, he was certainly not going to complain as he slowly sat up while Leone continued to push her hips down to take in his whole size, and the pleasure he felt from it was breathtaking, to say the very least. Leone screamed out loudly as she felt her vaginal walls expand further to take in Tatsumi's 10-inch long and hard length and it wasn't long before she fully took in his entire size inside her womanhood.

"Oh, fuck… so… big~!"

Tatsumi followed up as he thrust up his hips quickly as he hugged Leone close, before he kissed her on the lips deeply again. As she returned his action ferociously, his hands moved down to grasp her butt and making her moan into their liplock as Leone started moving her hips back and forth in perfect rhythm. The pleasure grew immensely for the both of them as Leone gradually sped up the pace, while Tatsumi met her movements by thrusting his hips up and down, and the girl felt his cock go deeper into her every time.

"AHHH, FUCK ME MORE TATSUMI! FUCK ME HARDER!"

"Leone…"

Leone looked totally helpless as she began to pick up the pace with her movements, the sight of the busty blonde moving up and down on his cock with her and her breasts bouncing up and down made him all the more aroused. The blonde woman couldn't even feel her arms anymore and her mouth was hung open as she was overwhelmed with the sensations that continuously hit her but her sweat-covered body continued to move her hips and made Tatsumi hotter and hotter by the second. She looked down to see Tatsumi looking at her with lust-filled eyes and she smiled down at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling her towards her enormous bust.

He was more than willing to give pleasure to her chest too, latching his mouth onto one breast, licking and sucking on her skin before doing the same to her nipple that made Leone pull him in towards her even more. Liking her reaction, he repeated the same process to her other boob, licking and sucking it wholeheartedly, before he finished it by biting her nipple gently that got Leone to move even faster, her mind going completely blank that she had nothing on her head except sex.

"Leone… you feel so good~! You feel so hot… damn it, I'm getting close!"

"FASTER, TATSUMI! FUCK ME HARDER! I WANT MORE OF YOUR COCK INSIDE ME!"

The two were moving as quickly they could and they finally reached both their limits as Leone slammed down on his cock for the last time as Tatsumi thrust up his hips at the very same time, and the result was fairly obvious as they both cried out their release at that exact moment.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

"LEOOONNEEEE!"

Leone felt like she was going to faint at the feeling of her lover's cum filling her pussy up that it reached her womb. The warmth of Tatsumi's cum in her pussy as well as her womb was something that she would always treasure, and she still felt the result of their combined orgasm as the pleasure flowed through her before she hugged him.

Tatsumi was panting after his release for the third time this night, and he felt his heart beat a bit faster than before as the pleasurable sensation flowed through every part of his body, further driving more of his cum into her. Relaxing his breathing, Tatsumi then looked at the still-recovering Leone and gently kissed her lips, which was enough for Leone to look at him with a smile.

"Tatsumi~"

He gently carried Leone off him and laid her down next to Akame, who looked at them with a smile as Tatsumi leaned over them both and gently kissed them on the lips one final time.

 _ **[*Super Sexy Lemon End*]**_

"Hey, lie down here Tatsumi… let's sleep together." Akame patted on the space between her and Leone.

Both women smiled then parted from one another and guided him to sleep between the two of them. Smiling happily in return, as he lay down there, they hugged him tightly before finally falling asleep.

"Good night, Tatsumi… I love you."

"Night, Tatsumi… let's… go again tomorrow…"

Tatsumi could only smile and close his eyes in happiness, letting out a sigh of contentment as he fell asleep as well.

"I love you both… and Mine too. Let's… stick together… like… a real family…"

 **(Same Time: Outside the Jaegers' Meeting Room)**

General Esdeath slowly approached the door to the meeting room, where all the other Jaegers were already assembled. A few hours earlier, she tasked Kurome and Wave to gather the other members of her team for an important meeting, and that said meeting was about to begin as soon as she steps inside.

However, she then turned her head to look at the little girl she was holding hands with, who was wearing a red Gothic Lolita attire as she looked down on the floor.

"Are you ready to say hello to everyone, Marina?" Esdeath asked, a small smirk flashing on her face.

The girl named "Marina" looked up, staring at Esdeath's face with her striking dark red eyes as she nervously smiled.

"I… I'm ready, General."

* * *

 _ **Well how was that lemon? Satisfied or not? If not, well not to worry! There will be plenty more of that as we go along with the story but they will be limited of course. I can't have this story be lemon-filled.**_

 _ **And the new member of the Jaegers is introduced. Who is this Marina girl? We'll find out next time!**_

 _ **Harem (Final): Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **If you want to catch up with me and your other favorite writers, join our Discord server:**_

[discord . gg / uDxVym8]

 _ **To those who want to join our Akame ga kill server…**_

[discord. gg / VX6sVkq]

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	27. Kill the Insult

_**Note: Vote in the poll, dudes.**_

"Normal Talking"

" _Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters… I also don't own the song here…**_

* * *

 **(Same Time; Jaegers' Meeting Room)**

"Why do you think the general would have us be assembled at this time?" Bols asked, turning his head towards Ren, who was looking at the doorway this entire time.

"According to Wave and Kurome, the general wants us to gather altogether for an important meeting. Something about a new member, if I recall…" Ren answered, scratching the back of his head as he tried to remember Wave's exact words earlier.

"A new member? Well, what do you know? This is good, isn't it?" said Bols in a cheerful voice, before he turned his head towards Wave. "Who's joining our team, Wave? Do you know him?"

"Huh?" said Wave, as he looked like he was focusing on something else. "Oh, I have no idea!" he lied, as he didn't want to look like he was out of his mind. From what him and Kurome witnessed earlier, the little girl that Esdeath was talking to inside the prison was most likely the new member she was talking about. However, he didn't want to make suspicions and then look like an idiot afterwards, leading to him not wanting to say a thing to the other Jaegers.

Who would believe him if he said that a little girl about Kurome's size was going to join them?

"That's a shame… we could've known something about him before he shows up with the general…" Bols muttered.

"It's a little girl." Kurome said, munching on her sweets just beside Wave.

All the attention in the room was now directed towards her.

"K-Kurome!" Wave cried, turning his head towards her.

Too late.

Run had quirked an eyebrow in interest, while Bols and Ren had their full attention turned towards the raven-haired girl who kept on eating her sweets as if there was nothing around her.

"A little girl? What do you mean by that, Kurome? Did you see what she looked like?" Run asked, clasping his hands together as he breathed on them, now interested in knowing more about the newest member who would be joining their group.

However, before Kurome could even answer Run's question, the door to the room had already burst open as the Empire's most feared general made her way inside with someone in tow from behind her.

"Ah, I see everyone is now here… excellent." Esdeath said, adjusting her cap with her free hand as she walked closer to the table. "Good evening to all of you. I'm delighted that nobody bothered not to show up, because I was thinking that at least somebody would."

"General." said Run as he stood up and bowed in respect, before the other Jaegers did the same and bowed their heads as well.

Esdeath tipped her cap slightly, causing her subordinates to sit back down again. "Now, you must be all wondering why I gathered everyone for a meeting even when we're all supposed to be taking a rest, am I right? Well, as long as all of you will listen appropriately and without anyone slacking off, we shall finish this meeting as soon as possible. Is that clear?"

Everyone inside the room nodded.

"Now, then… I believe you know why I had this meeting in the first place?" she asked, placing one hand on her hip.

"You… wanted to introduce a new member to our team. Is that right, General?" Wave spoke, looking a bit nervous as all the attention in the room was turned towards him.

"Well said." Esdeath said, before turning her attention to the other Jaegers as well. "But let me have a few words to explain everything first. Recently, we have just found out that Stylish has somehow been killed by an enemy or enemies of the Empire, but learning more about that is not important. What's important is that we have lost a member, and I have decided to bring in someone… _more worthy_ to be one of us."

"Where is he, general?" asked Bols, noticing that there was nobody beside her or follow from behind.

"Say hello to our newest member, Marina Brooks." Esdeath said, glancing behind her and at the same time, a little girl with white hair peeked out from behind her back, looking shy in front of everyone.

"G-General, is it time already?" the girl asked, looking up at Esdeath with a nervous expression.

"Yes it is. So step out and show yourself to your new teammates, Marina." Esdeath crossed her arms and smirked, causing Marina to gulp in nervousness before she slowly stepped away from the tall bluenette and walked shyly in front of her, clasping her hands together and tried her best to keep her gaze at the small group of people just beyond her.

Marina was a young girl with long, white hair, pale skin, and red eyes; she was about the same size as Kurome, and her outfit was of a Gothic Lolita attire; consisting is of a long black and red dress. Her dress contained many layered ruffles on the skirt and sleeves; over her shoulders, Marina wore a matching, also multiple layered, ruffled shawl, with a similar piece being worn on her waist over the bottom portion of her dress. She also had long white stockings underneath the dress and small red shoes for her cute feet. Her outfit was completed with multiple ribbons for accessories, with one being tied over her hair, and a miniature top hat on the left side of her head.

"I see what you mean by 'little girl', Kurome." said Run, observing the white-haired girl who was trying her best not to be nervous.

"Hi, I'm… M-Marina B-Brooks… it's… it's a pleasure to… to meet you all and… and… I hope we get along well!" she stuttered out, finishing her little introduction with a bow as she tried to flash a bright smile.

"Pleased to meet you, Marina! I'm Bols! I have a feeling we'll get along!" said Bols happily as he stood up from his chair and walked over towards the young girl, who started to back away from him at the same time. The tall man made a confused sound in response to her action, before he spoke out of curiosity. "I-Is something wrong?"

Esdeath chuckled, shaking her head as she walked over towards Marina. "Our new member apparently has a dark history, like the most of us have experienced in our past, so it would take her a while to adjust to all of you."

"General, does she hold a teigu like the rest of us?" asked Run, intrigued with the young girl.

"Believe it or not, she actually does… don't let her innocent appearance fool your minds as she is actually one of the dangerous people that the capital's prison has ever handled." Esdeath revealed, causing almost all of them to be surprised with what she said, and Marina had looked down on the ground to hide her shame.

"What can she do, General?" Run continued, continuing to observe Marina.

"That is something that will be discussed for another time. After all, it is indeed late at night and all of you should be asleep. There will be plenty of time to see for yourselves what our new member can do but for now, I only wanted you to be informed about who she is. Plus, I doubt she'll be willing to showcase her skills right now when you're all making her nervous." Esdeath smirked, crossing her arms in amusement.

Marina's sudden squeak of embarrassment was the sign that signified the truth in the general's words.

"Anyway, Ren?" she called out to the red-haired soldier.

"Yes, General?" he replied, standing up immediately.

"Is there something on your mind that you would like to share with us? You look as if you're not paying attention to what's being discussed here." the General narrowed her eyes slightly, and Ren was already shaking in his place.

"I have nothing, General! I just… I didn't want to ask any questions!" he immediately said, fearing Esdeath and what she might do to him. "Is there anything that you would like me to do?"

"Now that you brought that up, I want you to do something for our new member here." Esdeath said, looking at the little white-haired girl. "Marina's bedroom is located at the same area where our rooms are also found so I want you to escort her there. I've already assigned another guard to tell where it is exactly once you get to the rooms."

"Yes, no problem General!" Ren said, saluting quickly as he stood up from his seat and rushed towards Marina, who looked surprised with his quick and sudden response. "I'm on it now!"

The young girl was caught off guard and tried to back away, but she was too slow as Ren was already in front of her. She closed her eyes and prepared for the worst that was about to happen, until…

She felt something warm.

Opening her eyes, she immediately noticed how her hand was being held by Ren's own, as they walked towards the door. The girl felt like her cold skin was being warmed up by the taller man's big and clean hand, making her feel calmer than she was before; Marina looked up to meet his gaze as he spoke with a grin on his face.

"Just hold my hand and you won't get lost around here. Okay?" he said in possibly tone that he could muster, turning his attention back in front of him after his words.

Marina couldn't help but blush at both his kind words _and_ his somehow comforting touch as she nodded and walked beside him.

As the two left the room, Esdeath finally turned her attention back to her other subordinates. "That sums everything up for this meeting. More information regarding our new member shall be discussed eventually, so get back to your rooms and get some sleep." She tipped her cap towards them all. "Dismissed."

* * *

 _ **-Start song (Fairy Tail OP 16 - Strike Back) -**_

 **Wooooaaahhh… wooaah… woooaaahh… woaaaoohh…**

 _-Tatsumi is standing on top of a hilltop as the sun starts to rise before it cuts to his face, with him closing his eyes_

 **(Strike Back!)**

 _-Tatsumi snaps his eyes open and slashes across the screen, and the Akame ga Kill! logo shows during the instrumental_

 **Kidō sura kae rarenai kurai no kakuritsuda to shite mo**

 _-The Emperor and Honest are standing on the palace's balcony, watching at the war between the Revolutionary Army and the Empire_

 **ippāsento demo areba mo chiron teikō desho?**

 _-The members of Night Raid and the Jaegers start walking towards each other, with Najenda and Esdeath leading their respective groups_

 **Shosen, 'unmei' to nagetsuke raretatte, No I Won't!**

 _-In the Jaegers' Meeting Room, Marina gets introduced to the other Jaegers and she smiles before she found herself staring at Ren_

 **Hikkurikaeshite, Because**

 _-Chelsea looks back behind her with a horrified look on her face as blood covers the screen_

 **datte kimi to mirai wo miretara saikō janai?**

 _-An lifeless arm covered in blood falls to the ground in a puddle of blood and images of Akame, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Spear, Sayo, and Chelsea appear one-by-one before a black boot stomps on the puddle of blood_

 **Bring it on! cuz I'm just gonna grow up in the battle HEY!**

 _-A young Tatsumi and Esdeath are shown fighting each other in the tournament at the Northern Region_

 **Buchi nuku donten! Still burning my fire**

 _-Back in the battlefield, Run flies through the sky and kills several soldiers from above_

 **ten wo kirisaku raimei**

 _-Ren and Bols work together with their flames to burn down and weaken the attacking army_

 **I gotta kakikesu**

 _-Wave fights and quickly wins against several rebels with his Grand Chariot_

 **Nightmare tada mirai ga mitakute!**

 _-Kurome unsheathes Yatsufusa and cuts down all the soldiers in her way while Marina, in her combat outfit, sliced her way through everyone with her claws as she slashes the screen_

 **Kako,**

 _-Tatsumi shows up with a determined expression_

 **mirai,**

 _-Akame is seen with a very sad look on her face_

 **soshite iki teru ima,**

 _-Kurome cries into Wave's clothes as she hugged him_

 **I ain't scared of my past and now for taku sa reta asu**

 _-All of the members of Night Raid charge on into battle, pulling out their respective teigus_

 **Screaming out for my pride!**

 _-Esdeath flashes a sadistic grin_

 **Namida mitakunai kara, sakebi tsuzukeru yo! Zutto…**

 _-Tatsumi wipes the tears from his eyes as he flew down the hilltop and zoomed towards Esdeath despite the icicles that she sent to attack him_

 **(I'm never falling down! Oi kaze wo se ni fukitobasu Destiny!)**

 _-Tatsumi and Esdeath fight each other at a very fast pace that no one could catch up with their movements_

 **Kono senaka ni aru,**

 _-Akame faces off with Kurome on opposite sides of the battlefield with tears in her eyes_

 **egao mamoritai kara!**

 _-The rest of Night Raid assemble in the battlefield and prepare to fight back_

 **Zutto… (I gotta blast off your pain for you and me!)**

 _-Ren is sitting in his room, alone, as he flashed a dark look while imagining how would it be like when he has Akame to himself_

 **(Kanashimi nante Rest in peace!)**

 _-Marina hugs Ren from behind and he is shocked, cutting off his dark thoughts_

 **Nando demo…**

 _-Tatsumi charges towards Esdeath one last time as it cuts to the sky, a shooting star seen visible as it flew through the air_

 _ **-End of song-**_

* * *

 **(Two and a Half Weeks Later; Night Raid's Temporary Base)**

"Ahh, Su's cooking sure is amazing!" Leone grinned as she patted her full stomach, before she exhaled in happiness. "I haven't had food that good in a long time. Now, I feel like my exhaustion from training has melted away!"

"Yeah, you and Akame did a great job catching that huge fish. I feel a bit left out that I didn't get to hunt with you earlier…" Tatsumi said in between strikes, training his Strong Style against a wooden dummy. "But anyway, that was really impressive."

"Please, Su did most of the work. You really should be praising him Tatsumi." Akame said with a small smile as she blushed while helping out to clean up the table. "But, thanks anyways."

 _"That girl…"_ Najenda thought as she chuckled under her breath. _"She's completely in love with him."_ The Boss smiled as she watched Akame become jealous when Leone wrapped an arm around Tatsumi's neck and press his head against her breasts, but that was when Mine had approached the three and began lecturing them on how to play fair and square in sharing. _"They really are cute together… it's nice to see love blooming in here and some places despite what's happening in the capital… I just hope that they can all survive the battles that are still to come."_

"Hey Su," Tatsumi called out, managing to break free from Leone's grasp as he went to the tall biological teigu. "Do you want to train with me tomorrow? I'd like to learn something from you as well."

"That would be acceptable." Susanoo replied, nodding.

"Heh… I told you all that Susanoo was one-of-a-kind." Najenda smirked, breathing a puff of smoke from her cigarette. "Now you all see his greatness…"

"Well, I admit that he's pretty awesome…" Tatsumi said, shrugging his shoulders. "But, I can't believe that the Revolutionary Army gave us such a useful teigu for us to use. Have they gone mad to let go of Su just like that?" he joked.

"Well, Su has actually been asleep for decades, up until now." Najenda explained, gesturing to the biological teigu, who was helping Akame clean up. "He only reactivated after responding to me."

"That's our boss!" Akame exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. "I'd expect nothing less from you!"

"Heh, well if I had to say…" she smirked, brushing some hair out of her eyes. "I… guess it's… I guess it's my charm."

"Najenda is a spitting image of my former master." Susanoo said, setting down a stack of plates.

"Hmm, they must've been an amazing individual." Najenda said, resting her head on her fist as she smirked slightly. "I would have loved to meet them personality."

"Would you agree with that, Su?" Leone asked, leaning back in her chair and putting her arms behind her head.

"Yes." Susanoo replied, nodding his head in agreement. "He was a spectacular leader!"

"HE?!" Najenda exclaimed, her eye snapping open in shock as her cigarette fell from her grasp in shock.

"GAHAHAHAHA!" Leone laughed boisterously, nearly falling out of her chair as a few tears could be seen falling from her eyes in amusement. "He just said she's the very image of a —"

"Shut your mouth up, Leone!" Tatsumi hissed as he slapped his hand over the blonde woman's mouth. "You're gonna piss the Boss off! And it looks like you did…"

"Oh, did you say something Leone…" Najenda asked in a dark tone, flexing her metallic fingers to create a disturbing creaking noise. The silver-haired woman's eyes were dark as she slowly stood up from her seat and had her attention towards Leone. "Because I would hate to have to… _discipline_ you…"

"N-Nothing boss!" Leone exclaimed immediately as she audibly gulped in fear. The busty blonde assassin was practically shaking, before she hid behind Tatsumi. "I didn't say anything!"

"That's what I thought." Najenda said, slumping back down in to her seat as she crossed her arms. Releasing a heavy sigh, she then hid her face in her hands, as Lubbock visibly smirked at her reaction. _"Goddamn it, I'm so embarrassed right now."_

"Tch, everyone's suddenly going crazy over Susanoo…" Lubbock said in an irritated tone, tightly gripping the fabric of his pants as he turned his attention from the Boss to one of their newest members. "That bastard is taking my place here… what do you think Mine?" After a few moments of receiving no reply from the pink-haired sniper, Lubbock glanced over at her. Mine appeared to be in deep thought, staring down at a piece of cake on her lap, poking it with her fork repeatedly. "Mine?"

" _Everything's going well so far… I'm starting to get used to this relationship and Tatsumi's such a sweetheart when it comes to making all of us happy."_ she thought, smiling slightly. " _Apart from Leone's annoying teasing, I can live with this and —"_

"Oi, Mine! Are you alright?" The pinkette was pulled from her thoughts when Spear started snapping her fingers in front of her. "Lubbock just asked you a question. Aren't you gonna answer him?"

"Yeah, you've just been sitting there, not saying anything." Lubbock said, quirking an eyebrow in curiosity. "Were you even listening to me?"

"Yeah, you were crying about Susanoo taking your place." Mine said, vaguely remembering what Lubbock had been whining on about as she huffed. "Well, you were always the butt of everyone's jokes Lubbock, so I don't exactly see what's changed about you."

"Ooh, she got you there Lubbock…" Sayo said with a smirk, as she approached the green-haired man and started to chuckle lightly with Spear. "Everyone just loves to mess with you."

"Well, I wasn't 'crying' about anything, you know." Lubbock grumbled in an irritated tone, crossing his arms over his chest and slumping further into his seat, unable to come up with a proper comeback.

"Whatever you say man." Mine said as she sighed, about to start eating her cake. However, before Mine could take a bite, she noticed something enter the room out of the corner of her eye. The pinkette quirked an eyebrow in confusion as a small catlike creature suddenly walked up to her. "Huh? A Marg Panther kitten? This little guy must not be afraid of humans." Mine blushed lightly when the kitten jumped up onto the couch and began to rub against her, purring affectionately.

"Awwww! That's so precious!" Spear exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. The blonde _**Extase**_ user then raced over to the kitten and gently picked it up. "I had a little cat like this when I was still a kid back in my old home at the capital." With a soft smile, Sayo hugged the kitten against her chest, much to the creature's disdain. "I used to play with her everyday when I was younger, and then me and Sheele would take her out on walks around the capital." As Spear reminisced about her past, she didn't notice that the kitten was desperately trying to wriggle out of her grasp.

Mine turned her head to the side and she saw Seryu and Koro talking with Tatsumi, because apparently the girl wanted to learn from him next. Koro could be seen clinging on to Tatsumi's leg like he was taped there, while he was trying his best to pull the biological teigu off him and causing Seryu to simply laugh in amusement along with Leone, who was witnessing the scene in front of her.

" _Yeah, I can definitely live with this…"_ she thought with a smile. Noticing a presence next to her, Mine turned her head once again and saw that the Marg Panther kitten had managed to escape Spear's grasp and was once again sitting next to her, this time eyeing her piece of cake. "W-What do you want? I'm not giving you any of this." Mine grabbed her plate and moved it farther away from the kitten. "This is the last piece and I'm not sharing it."

However, Mine's will began to crumble when the kitten purred softly and stared up at her with cute, shimmering eyes. "F-Fine… it wouldn't hurt to give you a little piece." Mine then cut a small piece of cake and prepared to give it to the kitten, but her eyes widened when the kitten suddenly leaped forward and snatched the plate right out of her hands. "HEY!" Her eyes widened even further when the kitten suddenly exploded into a cloud of smoke, before transforming into Chelsea. Instantly, the pink-haired sniper's face flushed red in anger. "CHELSEA! That's my cake!"

"Thank you, meow." Chelsea smirked, eating Mine's piece of cake right in front of her, and further enraging the pinkette. "That was really delicious Mine, you really missed out. Maybe you should learn to eat a little faster."

"Chelsea." Tatsumi said as he walked back into the room, somehow managing to get Koro off his leg. He looked a bit serious as he threw a knowing look at the auburn-haired assassin. "I thought you said you'd go easy on Mine."

"But she left herself wide open." she smirked again, shrugging her shoulders. "I just couldn't resist it."

 _"Looks like having them get along is gonna be harder than I thought."_ Tatsumi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in slight irritation.

"Oh, so you can transform into a kitten?" Spear asked, rubbing her chin in deep thought. "That's an… interesting ability."

"Not just a kitten." Chelsea smiled, pulling out a small pink makeup box. "I can turn into whatever I want." Reaching into the box, she then pulled out several different utensils. "My teigu is called _**Phantasmagoria: Gaea Foundation**_ , and it's really handy." Chelsea's smirk returned as she leaned closer to Mine, who was still quite upset. "So if you don't keep your guard up…" Her mischievous smirk widening, she then whispered into Mine's ear. "I might just hop on the ride and steal Tatsumi for myself…"

"W-W-W-WHAT?!" Mine exclaimed, her face burning near neon red, steam practically blowing out her ears. "What did you just say?!"

"Who knows?" Chelsea replied as she enjoyed how flustered Mine had become.

 _"I wonder what she said to Mine?"_ Tatsumi thought, quirking an eyebrow as she watched the pink-haired sniper glare at Chelsea. _"Must have been pretty embarrassing to get her to be like that…"_

"Wow, your teigu does sound pretty cool." Sayo said, looking at the various makeup supplies within the teigu. "But it'd be very dangerous for you if you were ever discovered by the enemy."

"That's true. My 'makeup' teigu isn't really meant for combat." Chelsea explained, shrugging her shoulders afterwards. "But it's mainly designed for tricking people." The auburn-haired girl grinned as she teasingly poked Mine in the nose. "That surprised look on your face… it was totally worth it, you know."

"GAH! YOU!" Mine roared, stomping her foot repeatedly. "YOU PISS ME OFF SO MUCH!" The pinkette's overreaction then caused Chelsea to burst out laughing. "URGH! Stop laughing!"

 _"Looks like this'll be harder than what I pictured the worst out to be."_ Tatsumi thought, rubbing the back of his head as he smiled nervously.

 **(The Next Morning; South of Night Raid's Temporary Base)**

"Looks like we really pissed them off." Tatsumi said, sliding into his typical fighting stance. The young man had his back to Leone, and they both had their teigus engaged. Both assassins were currently surrounded by a pack of large, lizard-like danger beasts. "They've got us cornered out here."

"Heh, are you scared Tatsumi?" Leone asked with a smirk, cracking her knuckles. "If you are, then you can just run away and I'll fight them all to let you get away safely."

"You wish! I'm itching to kill some more beasts!" Tatsumi exclaimed, as he slapped his right elbow. "I'm ready to go all out on these bastards!"

"That's just what I wanted to hear!" Leone cheered, playfully punching Tatsumi in the arm with a grin. "How about we make this a little contest?"

"Sure, let's make this really fun." Tatsumi said, nodding.

"Great! Then whoever kills the biggest lizard wins!" Leone explained, just as the danger beasts began to attack. Leaping high into the air, Leone dropkicked one of the lizards in the back, immediately destroying its spine. "The loser will have to do whatever the winner says once we get back!"

"No problem!" Tatsumi exclaimed in response, holding _**Starfall**_ tightly in his grasp. "Time to fly!"

As bright light began to coat him, he quickly rolled out of the way as soon as he sensed a presence behind him. Turning around, Tatsumi watched as the ground where he had previously been standing cracked and crumbled. "One attack from these guys can do some serious damage… I'll have to quickly fly around them and watch for movements… then I can kill them quickly!" Taking off into the air, Tatsumi flew towards a small pack of three danger beasts that were trying to flank around Leone. Jumping into action, he landed on the ground and prepared _**Starfall**_. Tatsumi locked onto one of the danger beasts and quickly flew past it, piercing a massive hole through the lizard's chest and killing it instantly. Without even stopping, he flew towards and tackled one of the two other danger beasts down to the ground. With one slice, Tatsumi beheaded the lizard. He then quickly spun around and took aim at the final danger beast.

"Hey, Tatsumi! How are you hold —" Leone turned around to check up on Tatsumi, but she was shocked to see that one of the danger beasts had managed to sneak up behind her. Gasping in shock, Leone raised her arms to block the lizard's attack. But just when the its attack was about to land, Leone heard multiple gunshots ring out from in front of her. Leone opened her eyes just in time to see several holes on the danger beast's body. "Holy shit…" Her eyes widened when the lizard kept on standing for a few seconds before falling to the ground, lifeless. "Thanks for the save, Tatsumi."

"No problem Leone, I'm handling things pretty fine." Tatsumi said, as he reloaded a new clip into his pistol. "Damn these bastard's have tough hides… I'll be emptying my magazines before this even done if this continues."

"Using _**Starfall**_ , a gun, and unarmed combat simultaneously… he's pretty much caught up to Bulat already…" Leone thought, a small smile spreading across her face in amazement. "Tatsumi really is one of our strongest members."

"But you may want to step it up, because from the looks of it, I'm in the lead now." Tatsumi smirked, which was enough to snap Leone out of her thoughts.

"Don't think I'm gonna let you win that easily." Leone said with a smirk of her own, dodging to the left and punching another danger beast in the head, its bones breaking immediately at the impact. _"Taking out all these grunts isn't doing anything. If I want to stop these guys and win this, I'll have to take out their leader."_ Using her enhanced senses, Leone began to scan the ravine ahead of her. A vicious smirk spread across Leone's face when she spotted a large danger beast with a red gem on its head, hiding in the distance. _"I got you now!"_ Crouching low to the ground, Leone's muscles tightened before she leapt into the air towards the lizard's leader.

"RAGGGHHHHHH!" Leone let out a mighty roar, as she dove for the danger beast's leader. However, the lizard was more agile than what she had anticipated and it suddenly dodged at the last moment. With a booming crash, Leone's fist slammed into the ground, leaving behind a sizable crater. Standing upright with a wide smirk, Leone dusted herself off and looked around her. "Oh? Looks like you've got some moves, big guy." Before Leone even had a chance to make another move, the danger beast leader spat a barrage of acidic goo at her. Her eyes widening briefly, Leone jumped over to the right to avoid the acid.

"Whoa! The big guy still has some tricks up his sleeves!" The blonde assassin's feet hit the side of the ravine, and she prepared to bounce off the wall. But just about a second before Leone could act, a whirring sound filled the air. A moment later, an arrow pierced the red gem on the lizard's forehead. At first, it didn't look like it did anything before it suddenly exploded a second later, completely destroying the danger beast's head. "W-What?" Leone watched dumbfounded as the headless corpse took a few more stumbling steps, before it finally collapsed to the ground. "What the fuck?!"

"Phew!" Sayo cheered with a beaming smile, as she landed back down into the ravine next to Leone. "That was an amazing shot! I hit that bastard right in its sweet spot, while I was jumping to a new vantage point! Damn, now that's the skill of a master archer!

"What the hell, Sayo?!" Leone exclaimed, slapping the dark-haired girl in the arm. "That was my kill!"

"Bullshit it was." Sayo retorted, stomping on the danger beast's corpse with her foot. "I've been tracking this big bastard ever since we got out here. I picked up his trail pretty quickly, so while you and Tatsumi were dealing with the runts, I was out hunting for their leader."

"But… I… w-we… " Leone stammered, before hanging her head in defeat. "Goddamn it… I got nothing."

"Hey guys, I heard an explosion!" Tatsumi yelled, landing in front of the girls as the bright light that coated him dissipated into air. "What's going… oh, shit that's nasty." Tatsumi flashed a disgusted look at seeing the dead lizard, which was still slightly twitching. "Damn, you guys sure made a mess around her."

"It's not me." Leone said, gesturing to Sayo with her thumb. "Just her."

"Huh? W-Wait…" Tatsumi muttered, as his eyes narrowed. "Then that means…"

"Yep!" Sayo grinned, slinging her bow back over her shoulder as _**Spectator**_ deactivated. "I bagged the biggest danger beast, which means I win this contest."

"B-But you weren't —" Tatsumi tried to retort, but Sayo had already began walking away.

"Tatsumi, I'm gonna need a massage once we get back to base, okay? My feet are killing me out here! You can help as well, Leone! Remember, I won the contest so you have to do what I have to say." Sayo laughed as she hopped out of the ravine.

"Damn it, I wanted to win this…" Leone and Tatsumi muttered simultaneously, slowly following after Sayo.

* * *

 **(Thirty Minutes Later; Back at Night Raid's Temporary Base)**

"Hmm, it appears that you've become more efficient in taking out the danger beasts in the area." Najenda commented, stroking her chin in amazement. "You three even managed to take out that pack's leader, very impressive."

"Well, that was mostly Sayo's doing, to be honest." Tatsumi explained with a weak chuckle, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "But anyways, with so many different types of danger beasts attacking us from all sides, there's always a new challenge for me to take, and that's training in another form."

"Yeah, and it's way more fun that way!" Leone cheered with a toothy grin, slamming her fist into her palm.

"The air is also quite thin here." Najenda pointed out, slowly nodding her head. "Fighting danger beasts in such a harsh environment… I'm quite sure it's helped you all to improve your skills considerably."

"I'm sure it has!" Seryu said, staring down at Koro on the ground. "Koro-chan and I can totally feel it! With this, we'll bring enemies to justice easier than before!"

"I agree… I feel a lot stronger than before!" Mine said with a smile, picking up Koro before patting his head.

"What about you, Chelsea?" Najenda asked as she turned to the auburn-haired girl. "Any impressions after watching Night Raid for the past few weeks?"

"Hmm… I must say that you're all quite strong… although…" Chelsea said, locking eyes with Tatsumi and rolling her lollipop around in her mouth. "I can't help but feel like I haven't seen everything that some of you are capable of… but aside from that, you're stronger than the last team I was assigned to."

"Last team…" Tatsumi thought, noticing the hint of sadness in the auburn-haired assassin's voice. "Looks like she's gone through a great deal of pain as well… just like how all of us did."

"But…" she muttered, clasping her hands behind her back and slightly lowering her head. "Just because you're strong, it doesn't mean you'll survive in this world. I've read the various reports… about Sheele and Bulat…" Tatsumi's eyes suddenly widened when Chelsea mentioned his deceased comrades. "They were both killed on the front lines, doing their duty… as a person, I'm proud of them and I thank them for everything they've done…"

" _This girl…"_ Tatsumi thought, preparing for the worst.

"But as an assassin, I consider them failures."

"What?!" Seryu exclaimed as she tightly balled her fists in rage. "Did you just disrespect our friends?! They died in the line of duty for justice!" Almost immediately, Leone and Spear rushed over to Seryu and calmed her down, as they knew what the girl was like when she gets angry and enraged.

"You guys really have to do something about your overly optimistic thinking." Chelsea said, waving over her shoulder as she began to walk back towards the cottage. "You don't have enough spare lives to survive what's in store for all of you, you hear?"

"That girl…" Mine growled through gritted teeth. "She pisses me off to no end!" With a scowl, Mine turned to Tatsumi. "What do you think Tatsu —" Mine stopped in her own words when she saw the look on Tatsumi's face. The young assassin was crossing his arms, glaring at Chelsea as she walked away.

" _Who the hell does she think she is to speak of us like that? She said it herself earlier, her teigu wasn't meant for combat so what gives her the right to talk like that if she has never fought in a real battle? She didn't know what Sheele and Aniki had to go through to —"_ Tatsumi was then cut off from his thoughts when he suddenly felt a comforting hand on his shoulder. Focusing his attention back to reality, Tatsumi was surprised to see Mine staring back at him, her pink eyes full of concern.

"Tatsumi…" Mine said in a worried tone, as she stared into his emerald eyes. "Are you alright?"

"Mine…" Tatsumi said, as a small smile spread across his face, forgetting all about his thoughts about Chelsea earlier. The young assassin remained speechless for a few seconds before he smiled, reaching up and placing his hand on top of Mine's, giving it a soft squeeze. "Don't worry about it… I'm fine. Thanks for worrying about me, though."

"You d-don't need to t-thank me." Mine said, avoiding Tatsumi gaze for a few moments before she looked at him again, this time with a smile. "As long as you're feeling okay, I'm fine with it."

"Yeah, I got it. Do you want to have first taste on lunch, then? Me and Su are cooking today." Tatsumi asked with a light chuckle, as he reached out and patted Mine's head.

"Oh… why not? I'm feeling hungry anyways." she then realized what she was doing and cleared her throat." B-But it's not like I'm doing it for you! I just…" she pointed her finger at him accusingly, before she smiled in defeat, unable to help herself. "I just wanted to eat…"

"Oh, you're so cute acting like that. Let's go then." Tatsumi ruffled her hair before holding her hand as they went back inside together.

"In any case…" Susanoo said, grabbing ahold of one of the danger beasts that his comrades have hunted. "We'll cook up all the creatures that we killed."

"Yeah, I am feeling pretty hungry. Time to cook some fresh and tasty meat." Akame said while licking her lips, helping Susanoo carry the danger beast back to the cottage for their lunch.

 **(That Night; Just Outside Night Raid's Temporary Base)**

"Looks like she's still as bossy as ever." Tatsumi sighed as he rubbed the back of his head, walking down the path towards the hot springs located not far from the base.

"I know you love that side of her." Lubbock said with a grin, chuckling when he saw a slight blush spread across Tatsumi's face.

"Well excuse me for liking strong women." Tatsumi said, as he shrugged his shoulders. Apparently, Mine wanted him and Lubbock to sneak up on Chelsea and teach her a lesson regarding her harsh mouth when she was talking about their dead friends. It was just when Tatsumi was about to get ready for bed that Lubbock called for him and they went outside the cottage where they met with Mine and the three talked about their plan.

The only catch was, Chelsea was bathing way over at the hot spring.

"So you admit that you like Mine?" Lubbock asked, knowing that he had caught Tatsumi in his trap.

"Yeah." Tatsumi nodded, glancing at Lubbock for a second to see his eyes had widened. "Though I'm not sure if what I feel for her is love right now, I'm certain we'll make our relationship work. Besides, like Akame and Leone, she deserves a happy life outside of our assassin work. Not to mention, she's really cute as hell."

"Y-You… You're serious, aren't you?" Lubbock stuttered out in disbelief, not expecting Tatsumi to say something like that out of nowhere. "You and Mine?"

"Yeah, it's been a few weeks now…" Tatsumi smiled at the memory of Mine confessing to him. "She's adjusting well to my crazy but fun relationship with Akame and Leone… and those two are doing their best not to make Mine weirded out by what's happening between us. All in all, I'm happy and they're happy so I couldn't be more glad that things turned out this way."

"Well, great for you." Lubbock grumbled with an annoyed look, releasing a huff of irritation. "First Akame and Leone, now Mine… and even Esdeath has a thing for you. For fuck's sake, how many women are you gonna win over?!"

Tatsumi could only sweat-drop when he saw how disgruntled Lubbock was becoming, feeling a bit awkward with the situation right now.

Lubbock crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "Next thing I know I'll find that you're banging Chelsea, or Sayo, or something."

"A-Anyways…" Tatsumi said as he quickly tried to change the subject. "How are we gonna teach Chelsea a lesson? She's not some girl to let her guard down when she's alone."

"Good question… hmm…" Lubbock mumbled, stroking his chin while as he thought of a possible idea. "Maybe we could use our teigu in some way…" Just then, Lubbock's eyes shot open and he suddenly stood up from his seat. "AH! I got it! I figured out what to do!"

 **(Ten Minutes Later; Hot Springs North of Night Raid's Temporary Base)**

 _"Goddamn it Lubbock, is this the best idea you could come up with?"_ Tatsumi thought as he face-palmed, crouching behind a large rock. The young assassin was relying on both his senses and his stealth to sneak up on the hot springs undetected. _"I can't believe I actually agreed to do this shit."_

 **(Flashback)**

"Listen up. It'll be Chelsea's turn to bathe soon." Lubbock explained, gesturing towards the place where the hot springs were located. "You have to fly above her and follow her undetected into the springs." Tatsumi was about to protest, but the green-haired man quickly cut him off. "Then while she's bathing, you sneak up on her… and cover her head with a bath bucket. She'll be totally surprised by then!"

"Urgh, are you sure this is the best idea?" Tatsumi asked, sighing heavily as he shook his head. "Because, I don't think this is the best —"

"You idiot. Mine wanted to get back at her, right? So do it for your girlfriend!" Lubbock exclaimed, pointing at Tatsumi. "Now's our only chance to strike, you know."

"You son of a bitch… fine." Tatsumi muttered in an exasperated tone, running his hand down his face. Standing up from his seat, Tatsumi suddenly got right in Lubbock's face, glaring at him ferociously. "I'll go along with your plan, but I don't want to see you anywhere near those hot springs, Lubbock. Because if I find out that this is all just some stupid trick so you can peek at Chelsea, I'm gonna be really pissed off and you won't like that."

"Tatsumi, I would never do such a thing!" Lubbock said in a mock offended tone, taking a few steps away from Tatsumi. "I respect a woman's privacy, and I would never consider doing something as indecent as peeping."

"I mean it you bastard, stay the hell away from those hot springs." Tatsumi threatened as he turned to leave and get ready. "I'll meet up with you once I'm finished there."

"Great! I'll leave it to you! Go out there and get 'er man!" Lubbock exclaimed, giving Tatsumi a grin and a thumbs up. Once Tatsumi was out of sight though, a perverted grin spread across Lubbock's face. "This is perfect! This way, I can see how mad Chelsea gets when she gets spied on in the bath! If she just laughs everything off, I'll be going there all the time!"

 **(End of Flashback)**

"You know, you shouldn't yell out your secret plans Lubbock." Tatsumi muttered to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Whatever, I'll just let Chelsea kick his ass."

Going deeper a little bit more, he crouched down to make sure to check his surroundings to see if no one was around. Seeing none, he stood back up again and continued on his way. _"I'd be a real piece of crap if I tried to peek now, so I'll just get this over with quickly…"_ Tatsumi then lowered his head, the blush on his face darkening a bit. _"But… a part of me does want to catch a peek. I'm an idiot if I said she's not gorgeous…"_ Biting his own tongue, Tatsumi shook his head to free himself of his perverted thoughts. _"Gah, I don't want to piss Chelsea off anymore than I'm about to, so let's just get this over with!"_

Quickly jumping out from behind his cover, Tatsumi grabbed a nearby bath bucket. However, as he creeped towards the edge of the hot springs, he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks when a large figure suddenly emerged from the water. Tatsumi's eyes shot open in shock when he spotted Susanoo amongst the steam.

 _"Susanoo?!"_

"I know you're there." Susanoo said, turning to where Tatsumi was standing. "It's no use hiding. You may be good at playing ninja and sneaking around, but it won't mask your aura or sense of presence. Don't forget that, or else you'll end up dead in battle."

He immediately took notice of something weird in Susanoo's words. _"Wait a minute… this isn't right… something about this feels off."_ Tatsumi thought, as he showed up in front of the biological teigu with an embarrassed grin. Releasing a light sigh, Tatsumi hung his head in defeat. "I guess you found me, Susanoo."

"Heh." Susanoo chuckled, a smirk spreading across his face. The large man then raised his hand to playfully chop Tatsumi on the head. However, Susanoo's eyes widened when the brunette suddenly reached out and caught his wrist, throwing it away to the side.

"Don't think you can hide from me as well…" Tatsumi said, looking up with a smirk of his own on his face. "Chelsea."

"Hoh…" Susanoo said, his smirk widening slightly before he was enveloped in a cloud of smoke. When the smoke dispersed, it revealed Chelsea, who was completely naked except for a towel that was tightly wrapped around her body. "I must say that you're just full of surprises…you're a lot smarter than you seem, Tatsumi. How did you manage to figure me out?"

"You may have perfectly copied Susanoo's appearance, but you didn't replicate his speech pattern…" Tatsumi explained, which caused Chelsea's eyes to widen slightly in surprise. "You still spoke as if you were your still Chelsea."

"For you to have picked up on something as subtle as speech patterns so quickly, very impressive. I must say you have my interest now, Tatsumi." Chelsea said with a sly smile, swirling the sucker in her mouth.

"There's more to me than you think." Tatsumi smirked.

"I sensed you sneaking up on me, even from above." Chelsea explained, leaning forward towards Tatsumi, giving the young assassin a generous view of her cleavage. Tatsumi didn't even waver and looked at the girl straight in the eye, ignoring her little trick. "I guessed your motive pretty fast and I figured I'd give you a little surprise of my own. But, it looks like you caught me as well."

"So you went out your way to transform and ambush me…" Tatsumi muttered, turning his gaze to the side for a bit. Releasing a heavy sigh, Tatsumi suddenly bowed, which definitely surprised the auburn-haired assassin. "I'm sorry about disturbing you, Chelsea. Mine just wanted to get back at you for what you said earlier, and I got dragged in along with her plan."

"And you weren't upset about what I said?" Chelsea asked, slightly cocking her head in confusion.

"I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty angry for a little bit." Tatsumi replied, as he raised his head. "But I figured that you're not the type of person to go around insulting people over their mistakes without knowing what you're doing. You also pointed out the disadvantages in being sneaky around enemy territory. Don't worry, I'll definitely remember that in future battles." Chelsea's eyes slightly widened in surprise at hearing his words. "Like everyone else in the hideout, I can feel that you've experienced a great deal of pain… and that you're just looking out for us in your own way."

"Heh, you're pretty observant." Chelsea said, suddenly turning away from Tatsumi. "Just recently… I came home from a mission to find my whole team slaughtered. I… I really don't want that to happen with you guys too… I don't think I can handle losing another team."

 _"I get it now…"_ Tatsumi thought, as he remembered something Najenda had said a few months ago. _"Chelsea is the sole survivor of the regional team. This proves it, she was just being hard on us because she really was looking out for us… and for our safety."_ Tatsumi looked down on the ground, before a small smile spread across his face.

"Damn…"

Raising an eyebrow in confusion, Chelsea turned back around to face Tatsumi. She was then surprised to see a toothy grin on Tatsumi's face.

"You're pretty optimistic, Chelsea! I didn't know you cared that much about us!" Tatsumi's particular comment caused a bright blush to spread across Chelsea's face, her heart beating a little faster in her chest. She didn't want Tatsumi to see that she was embarrassed, so she quickly grabbed a bath bucket full of water.

"Am not!" Chelsea said with closed eyes, splashing the hot spring water all over Tatsumi. "Just looking out for my own mental being like any person would!."

"Yeah, I get that…" A voice said from behind her, causing her to turn around immediately and she saw Tatsumi leaning against a rock while smirking at her, showing that he had managed to dodge her attempt to hit him. "I'd do the same if I was in your place as well."

" _Shit, he's fast."_ she thought to herself in slight nervousness, realizing he can play at her game.

He started walking back to where he was earlier, with Chelsea following his movements. "But, at least I won't try to hide my feelings like you do… could it be that you're shy? What happened to the playful and mischievous side that you show to Mine all the time?" he teased.

Deciding to scare Tatsumi off, a sickly sweet smile spread across Chelsea's face. "Oh, Tatsumi… next time you sneak up on me while I'm bathing…" she then started making making scissor motions with her fingers. "I won't hesitate to cut them off… so don't try it —" she was then cut off from her words when she felt the towel covering her body was suddenly pulled off.

"EEEPP!" she squeaked out in embarrassment, looking down at her naked body. She quickly crouched down into the water, covering her breasts and womanhood with her hands as she closed her eyes tightly.

"Well, I'm gonna have to say good night! I need to sleep so have fun there!" Tatsumi shouted, already walking away from the hot springs while holding Chelsea's towel in his hand. "Oh, sorry about this! This kinda got stuck to my hand for some reason earlier…" he then threw the towel back towards the hot springs, landing just at the rocky edge before the water, before continuing on his way back.

"Good, he's finally gone… damn, he got me there…" Chelsea sighed as she noticed Tatsumi was walking away. She then turned around, her face bright red as she clutched a hand over her still-racing heart. _"W-What am I feeling right now?"_

* * *

 _ **Wel the new member has been introduced! Watch out for her in the upcoming chapters!**_

 _ **Tatsumi just showed Chelsea how badass and dangerous he could be when she plays his game! Hahaha, look at what happened. She got tricked by him instead of her tricking him.**_

 _ **Stay tuned, because Esdeath and Tatsumi are about to reunite once again!**_

 _ **Harem (Final): Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **If you want to catch up with me and your other favorite writers, join our Discord server:**_

[discord . gg / uDxVym8]

 _ **To those who want to join our Akame ga kill server…**_

[discord. gg / VX6sVkq]

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	28. IMPORTANT NOTE

_**This is not a chapter, but a guide to help my readers to fully understand and know who the two OCs in this fic are, and what they can do. The next chapter will be out soon, I promise because I'm writing it as you are reading this. Until then, I'll see you all later.**_

 _ **Poll is still ongoing until February 2. Vote now.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters…**_

* * *

 _ **Name:**_ Ren Ozaki

 _ **Age:**_ 19 years old

 _ **Place of Origin:**_ Mountain Village

 _ **Height:**_ 5'7

 _ **Weight:**_ 48 kg

 _ **Hair Color:**_ Red

 _ **Eye Color:**_ Blue

 _ **Blood Type:**_ A

 _ **Teigu:**_ Bane of Amaterasu: Taiyōki

-Ren is a young teenager sent by his family to join the Empire's forces as a way to 'teach him on how to be a fighter'. Shunned by his whole family, friends, and the people in his village at a young age, he hopes to make a great impact in the Capital to finally earn him the acknowledgement of his peers, loved ones, and acquaintances.

-Ren is a young man with red hair that framed the sides of his face, while being regularly combed to the left side, allowing his bangs to show. He also has deep blue eyes and has fair complexion. He is commonly seen wearing his Imperial Guard uniform, but whenever he is off duty, he wears a high-collared blue jacket with a grey shirt underneath, along with dark brown pants and black shoes.

-He is honorable, humble, and is willing to put his life on the line for a mission. Ren is also caring and kind hearted to the people he cares about. His determination and will to continue is extremely high that he is able to avoid and survive near-death situations every time. He believes that every human must be equal, which is why he doesn't resort to violence most of the time, preferring to solve a problem by means of words.

 **XXX**

 _ **Full name:**_ Bane of Amaterasu: Taiyōki

 _ **Form:**_ A golden ring with a dark orange gemstone as its jewel that glows brightly whenever the teigu's abilities are being used or there's something happening with it from the inside.

 _ **Abilities:**_

 **Pyrokinesis/Fire Manipulation** \- Allows user can create, shape and manipulate fire in a variety of ways. Depending on the substances alight, and the user's feelings, the color of the flame and the fire's intensity will vary.

 **Immunity to Fire** \- Grants user immunity to fire/heat, being completely invulnerable to direct and indirect effects, although the specific limit of this power is unknown.

 **Fire Absorption** \- Allows the user to absorb fire, while removing it from the original source, into their body and use it in various ways, gaining an advantage by enhancing themselves, using it as a power source, etc. This ability is temporary until the moment the absorbed fire is used.

 **Healing fire** \- The user can heal himself or others by using flames/fire/heat. Can be nullified if there is no source, lack of power, the environment, or if the enemy can negate fire itself.

 **Pyrokinetic flight** \- The user can fly, glide and/or levitate through manipulation of fire. They can fly at varying speeds, levitate, or propel themselves without taking flight, including jumping long distances by a short burst of flight.

 **Heat Generation** \- The user can increase the kinetic energy of atoms by simply touching an object, changing the temperature from drastically low, to absolute high. May cause harm to others if uncontrolled.

 **Breath of Fire** \- The breath of fire involves the user creating fire out of his or her mouth, mixing air from the lungs with the flame, creating a wider, hotter blast. Can be used to instantaneously warm the body under frigid conditions.

 _ **Side effect (MUST-READ):**_ Once the ring is put on, the person that the user will lay eyes on will be his drive or known as the "inner fire". This inner fire will be the source of the teigu's strength and will draw power from it, feeding off the user's strong emotions and desires. In other words, the user will be obsessed over that person as the teigu grows stronger. This grows over time and it is also possible that the obsession could be a romantic one.

However, since the teigu feeds off of emotions, it also means that Taiyōki has a mind of its own. It is actually an Imperial Arms dependent on its host at first in order to grow stronger, which is why the ring cannot be taken off the user no matter what. Once Taiyōki has reached the point where it is strong enough in its own point of view, it will eventually detach itself from the user and will cause its host to return back to his normal state.

 _ **Trump Card:**_

 **Helios** \- the user dons a bright yellow, full-body armor that greatly enhances his pyrokinesis, reaching to the point that it cannot be or melted even by magic or another teigu (Esdeath's teigu). The armor also grants the user the ability to use the Sun's solar energy itself to augment his fire, making it more destructive than ever and can bring about a drought even with a simple hit.

However, no user has ever used the armor while still being mentally stable. Helios is normally used when the teigu's host has gone completely obsessed with his inner fire that his mind becomes blank, with only the desire to make his inner fire only his for eternity. This is most likely due to the teigu controlling the user's emotions at this point, that Taiyōki itself is fighting in its host's place.

Taiyōki can finally leave its user while the armor is activated, but it leaves the person in a near-comatose state due to his bond with the teigu being ripped off from him.

 _ **History:**_ Will be mentioned in the story.

* * *

 _ **Name:**_ Marina Brooks

 _ **Age:**_ 18

 _ **Place of Origin:**_ A burnt down village

 _ **Height:**_ 5'3

 _ **Weight:**_ 38 kg

 _ **Hair Color:**_ White

 _ **Eye Color:**_ Dark Red

 _ **Blood Type:**_ B

 _ **Teigu:**_ Blood of Royalty: Black Reign

-Marina is a kind, caring, gentle, and adventurous girl. She cares deeply for the people she loves and is willing to fight for them despite anything in her way. She is energetic and loves to do stuff, not wanting to just sit around and wait. However, when it comes to being in battle, her attitude greatly as she becomes a cold-blooded killer with no remorse and no sign of her original personality could be seen.

-When Marina was roughly 10 years old, her village got burned down for unknown reason, with some saying that it was the work by members of the Revolutionary Army. This eventually led her to massacring three villages using a teigu that was given to her by her mother when she was younger as an act of revenge against the people who destroyed her home. Marina got arrested and was thrown into prison where she stayed there for 8 years, greatly affecting her personality as well as building up her reputation as the Capital's youngest prisoner and one of the most dangerous.

-Due to her being alone inside a prison cell for years, Marina had developed insecurity problems. She doesn't trust people that much anymore, but she is still the same energetic and kind girl underneath all of that. All she truly wanted while she was in prison is a friend, someone she can hug and open up to. She is constantly trying to open up to people once again.

-She is also known in some parts of the Capital as the "Girl of the Bloody Snow" due to her reputation as a killer which is in irony with her snow-white hair that symbolizes purity.

 **XXX**

 _ **Full Name:**_ Blood of Royalty: Black Reign

 _ **Form:**_ A set of invisible gloves that blend in with the user's skin to avoid it from being seen or sensed.

 _ **Abilities:**_

-Whenever the user senses the presence of danger, a set of small but razor-sharp blades come out of each finger and making it look like the user's fingernails have grown. When the teigu is in use, the user is faster and stronger than his normal state

 **Mad Hatter** \- The user's speed is enhanced greatly, allowing him to reach speeds to the point that the user becomes a blur to the naked eye. This particular ability only lasts for 20 seconds and leaves the user exhausted for 2 minutes.

 **Bloedichte** \- The user sucks in the blood of an enemy and uses it to heal himself. However, the user must have at least 5 claws inside the victim's body for him to partake the blood.

 **Averex** \- This ability only works when the user is enraged and his emotions are at their strongest. While this ability is activated, the teigu's abilities are 3x more powerful than normal, and the claws grow about 25 cm, becoming sturdier and deadlier in the process. This ability can only be used once per day because it can greatly affect the user's state of mind and personality.

 _ **Trump Card:**_

 **Queen's Nightmare** \- The user digs his claws into the ground, extending and multiplying underneath the surface before coming up as huge spikes that form a deadly circle around the user. The circle of spikes can reach up to 10 meters in proximity of the user's position. This ability will leave the user in a near-death state, so it must be only used in times of certain emergencies or as a last resort.

 _ **History:**_

During the time of the first Emperor, when the teigus were created, his wife had fallen ill because of an unknown sickness and was predicted to die in a few months' time. This left the emperor in a state where he was forced to gather every doctor or intelligent folk in the capital and tell them all to help him in his cause to save the empress.

Miraculously, his wife survived her illness after a woman of the countryside volunteered to donate her blood to the empress to, at the cost of her own life after an operation that lasted for half a day. Overjoyed and filled with gratitude upon the act of generosity on his wife, the first emperor wanted to thank the mysterious woman in a rather twisted way.

Instead of returning the woman's dead body back to her family in the countryside, the emperor had declared the woman as an escapee who had gone insane and ran away from society after the operation. However that wasn't the case as he had the team of scientists, who were tasked the create the teigus, to make a special teigu out of the woman's body as he was planning to have it as a gift to his newly-healed wife.

It was unknown on how the teigu was actually made, but it was said that the woman's own skin was used to create a near-invisible material for the teigu's gloved form, fairly symbolizing that the woman's presence will always be with the empress, who accepted the gift from her husband and wielded it until the day she died.

Black Reign was eventually thrown into the Grand Canal when the Empress' funeral was held, her body sailing on a huge ship as her husband, who was still living at the time, threw the gloves away into the water.

Many years later, a woman living in a village near the Grand Canal managed to come across the gloves, feeling them underwater with her feet as she hid the teigu from humanity inside a box, wanting to someday give it to her daughter as a way to protect herself from the dangers of the now-corrupt Capital.

* * *

 _ **I hoped that helped!**_

 _ **Harem (Final): Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **If you want to catch up with me and your other favorite writers, join our Discord server:**_

[discord . gg / uDxVym8]

 _ **To those who want to join our Akame ga kill server…**_

[discord. gg / VX6sVkq]

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	29. Kill the Humanoid Monsters

_**Back in a new chapter! Hope you all enjoy this one!**_

 _ **Guest: Taiyōki knows nothing but eat emotions, reject its host, go out on a rampage until it loses power, wait for another host, then rinse and repeat. That's why it leaves its host.**_

 _ **Note: Vote in the poll, dudes.**_

"Normal Talking"

" _Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters… I also don't own the song here…**_

* * *

 **(The Next Morning; Capital's Main Street)**

"Commander, is there a problem?" Run asked, watching Esdeath scan through a crowd of people.

"I just can't help it… whenever I see a crowd, I always look for Tatsumi." the woman replied, releasing a light sigh as she rested her hands on her hips.

"Commander, if I may suggest…" he said, noticing the look of sadness on Esdeath's face. "I've uncovered several men in the army who resemble Tatsumi. If you wish for it, I can call them and be here in a snap."

"There's no need to do that, Run." She shook her head in disapproval, crossing her arms. "There is only one Tatsumi in this world, and I won't tolerate any other man."

"My apologies." Run said, bowing his head slightly before he drifted off to his thoughts. " _Strange… when this sadistic woman worked together with the minister… I thought that whatever skills she might possess must be lowlife… but, she's more interesting than I thought. I'll have to put my original goal on hold for now and see how this plays out, then…"_

" _Where are you, Tatsumi? Are you going to disappear for years like what you did as Razior? Or will you face me like what you did in the tournament?"_ she thought to herself, looking down on the ground.

 **(Same Time; Mines near the Capital)**

"GAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" A group of miners screamed, running away from a group of large, hideous monsters from behind them.

"I've never seen a danger beast like that! Run for your lives!" One of the miners screamed in fear, sprinting past the others. But their efforts were all for nothing as the danger beasts easily caught up with them. The miners yelled in panic, hoping and praying somebody would save them but were cut off when the monsters grabbed ahold of them. Before they could even struggle and fight back, the human-looking danger beasts bit their heads clean off.

" _It looks like I've gotten some very interesting toys…"_ A mysterious figure wearing a white hood thought, as he watched the danger beasts devour the miners. " _It's been a long time since I've been to my playground, the Capital. I think I'll have some fun and enjoy myself…"_ he finished with an evil grin, turning away and leaving the mines.

* * *

 _ **-Start song (Fairy Tail OP 16 - Strike Back) -**_

 **Wooooaaahhh… wooaah… woooaaahh… woaaaoohh…**

 _-Tatsumi is standing on top of a hilltop as the sun starts to rise before it cuts to his face, with him closing his eyes_

 **(Strike Back!)**

 _-Tatsumi snaps his eyes open and slashes across the screen, and the Akame ga Kill! logo shows during the instrumental_

 **Kidō sura kae rarenai kurai no kakuritsuda to shite mo**

 _-The Emperor and Honest are standing on the palace's balcony, watching at the war between the Revolutionary Army and the Empire_

 **ippāsento demo areba mo chiron teikō desho?**

 _-The members of Night Raid and the Jaegers start walking towards each other, with Najenda and Esdeath leading their respective groups_

 **Shosen, 'unmei' to nagetsuke raretatte, No I Won't!**

 _-In the Jaegers' Meeting Room, Marina gets introduced to the other Jaegers and she smiles before she found herself staring at Ren_

 **Hikkurikaeshite, Because**

 _-Chelsea looks back behind her with a horrified look on her face as blood covers the screen_

 **datte kimi to mirai wo miretara saikō janai?**

 _-An lifeless arm covered in blood falls to the ground in a puddle of blood and images of Akame, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Spear, Sayo, and Chelsea appear one-by-one before a black boot stomps on the puddle of blood_

 **Bring it on! cuz I'm just gonna grow up in the battle HEY!**

 _-A young Tatsumi and Esdeath are shown fighting each other in the tournament at the Northern Region_

 **Buchi nuku donten! Still burning my fire**

 _-Back in the battlefield, Run flies through the sky and kills several soldiers from above_

 **ten wo kirisaku raimei**

 _-Ren and Bols work together with their flames to burn down and weaken the attacking army_

 **I gotta kakikesu**

 _-Wave fights and quickly wins against several rebels with his Grand Chariot_

 **Nightmare tada mirai ga mitakute!**

 _-Kurome unsheathes Yatsufusa and cuts down all the soldiers in her way while Marina, in her combat outfit, sliced her way through everyone with her claws as she slashes the screen_

 **Kako,**

 _-Tatsumi shows up with a determined expression_

 **mirai,**

 _-Akame is seen with a very sad look on her face_

 **soshite iki teru ima,**

 _-Kurome cries into Wave's clothes as she hugged him_

 **I ain't scared of my past and now for taku sa reta asu**

 _-All of the members of Night Raid charge on into battle, pulling out their respective teigus_

 **Screaming out for my pride!**

 _-Esdeath flashes a sadistic grin_

 **Namida mitakunai kara, sakebi tsuzukeru yo! Zutto…**

 _-Tatsumi wipes the tears from his eyes as he flew down the hilltop and zoomed towards Esdeath despite the icicles that she sent to attack him_

 **(I'm never falling down! Oi kaze wo se ni fukitobasu Destiny!)**

 _-Tatsumi and Esdeath fight each other at a very fast pace that no one could catch up with their movements_

 **Kono senaka ni aru,**

 _-Akame faces off with Kurome on opposite sides of the battlefield with tears in her eyes_

 **egao mamoritai kara!**

 _-The rest of Night Raid assemble in the battlefield and prepare to fight back_

 **Zutto… (I gotta blast off your pain for you and me!)**

 _-Ren is sitting in his room, alone, as he flashed a dark look while imagining how would it be like when he has Akame to himself_

 **(Kanashimi nante Rest in peace!)**

 _-Marina hugs Ren from behind and he is shocked, cutting off his dark thoughts_

 **Nando demo…**

 _-Tatsumi charges towards Esdeath one last time as it cuts to the sky, a shooting star seen visible as it flew through the air_

 _ **-End of song-**_

* * *

 **(The Next Morning; Night Raid's Temporary Base)**

"Give me a break…" Leone grumbled, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she made her way towards Tatsumi's room. "Why the hell do I have to wake Tatsumi up at this ungodly hour? Doesn't he always wake up early everyday? Did something happen?" Suppressing a yawn about to escape from her mouth, Leone stopped just in front of Tatsumi's room. "I get that it's his turn to go out on patrol for today, but why didn't Akame wake him up? She's always up this early for training." Reaching out with her arm, Leone gently knocked on Tatsumi's door. "Oi Tatsumi, time to get your ass out of bed. You've got to be out on patrol in about twenty minutes." After several moments of receiving no reply from her lover, Leone groaned in irritation. "Damn it, he's gonna force me to drag him out of bed." Leone released a light sigh, before pinching the bridge of her nose. "Alright Tatsumi, I gave you a chance to get up on your own. So I don't wanna hear you complaining when I dump your lazy ass on the floor."

Opening the door to Tatsumi's room, Leone was immediately shocked by what she saw. Scattered across the room were various articles of clothing, but not all of them were Tatsumi's. Turning her gaze to the bed, Leone finally spotted Tatsumi, but she was more surprised when she saw the other person who was sleeping in his arms. A mischievous smirk spread across her face when she saw, a very naked Mine snoring softly as she cuddled up next to Tatsumi. The pink-haired sniper had a look of content on her face as she rested her head against Tatsumi's chest.

"Well… now this is very interesting… did those two have some fun here last night? Aww, now I'm a bit jealous that they didn't even invite me or Akame." Leone then made her way over to the window and threw the curtains open, letting in a bright stream of early morning light from the sun.

"Ugh… what's going on?" Tatsumi groaned in an irritated tone, raising his right arm to cover his eyes. "Who the hell opened the window here?" Turning his head towards the window, the young man's eyes instantly shot open when he saw Leone's smirking face only a few inches away from him. "L-Leone!? W-What the hell are you doing here?!"

"No, Tatsumi… the question should be, what's 'she' doing here?" Leone asked with an offended look, pointing at Mine as she sat on the edge of the bed. "And she's completely naked as well. Tatsumi, what did you with Mine last night?"

"Oi, what the hell is all this noise for?!" Mine exclaimed, sitting up on the bed with an annoyed look, not pleased that her sleep had been disturbed. "I'm trying to sleep, damn —" she stopped dead in her tracks the moment she spotted Leone near Tatsumi. The pink-haired sniper blinked for a few moments, before a fierce blush quickly took over her face. "KYAAA!" Pulling up the sheets to cover herself, Mine quickly hid behind Tatsumi out of embarrassment. "Why the hell are you here, Leone?!"

"Hmm, why are _you_ here, Mine?" the blonde retorted, teasingly poking her comrade on the nose. "From the looks of things, you had a little late night rendezvous with Tatsumi, then the two of you played husband and wife a bit too far."

"Can you please not say it like that?" Tatsumi groaned, running his hand down his face.

"Nooooo…" Mine moaned out, hiding her face in her hands as she shook her head. "I never interrupted your time or Akame's time with Tatsumi… so why do you have to butt in and play the bad guy while I'm with him?"

"Well, it's a little late for that…" Leone smirked as she leaned closer to the flustered pinkette. "So, Mine… how was it? Did you enjoy your 'alone time' with Tatsumi? Was it better than your first?"

"Shut up…" Mine whined, pulling the sheets up over her head. Apparently, after Tatsumi put Chelsea in her place last night, Mine also wanted to spend some alone time with Tatsumi since Leone and Akame were hogging him all the time during the day and certain nights. Being the gentle and loving man he is, Tatsumi didn't hesitate to agree and once again gave Mine a night to remember last night.

"Leone, why are you really here?" Tatsumi asked, sighing deeply as he massaged his forehead in slight irritation. "I know you like to sleep, so I doubt that you got up this early just to mess with us."

"Oh well, I guess I've teased you guys enough." Leone said, shrugging her shoulders. "I just came here to let you know that it's your turn to go out on patrol. It just so happened that I stumbled upon our resident sniper cuddling with you…" she finished with another smirk.

"Wait… damn it, you're right. I guess I need to get going then." Tatsumi grumbled, sliding out of the bed, doing a few stretches before starting to get dressed, unknowingly giving both girls a show as they stared at his toned body. "Shit, it must have completely slipped my mind."

"Hmm, I wonder why?" Leone grinned as she glanced over at Mine, who hid under the covers once again after the busty blonde caught her staring.

"Okay that's enough Leone, you're gonna kill Mine at this rate out of embarrassment." Tatsumi said after he was fully dressed, grabbing _**Starfall**_ before walking over towards the busty blonde. Leaning forward, Tatsumi stared right into Leone's yellow eyes. "She already gets teased enough by Chelsea, so can you please not make things harder for her? Mine's trying to adjust to us, and so far it's all good."

"You know I can't say no to you." Leone said with a small smile, a light blush spreading across her face. "Alright, I'll go easy on her for now."

"Thanks, Leone." Tatsumi said, giving Leone a kiss on the lips before he quickly climbed back onto the bed. The young assassin crawled over next to where Mine was hiding and gently pulled the sheets away from her. Mine was still quite flustered and avoided Tatsumi's gaze at first, her cheeks bearing the same color as her hair. "I've got to head out Mine, but I'll be back later. If you want to, we can spend some more alone time together when I get back."

"Really?" Mine muttered, slightly turning her head back towards Tatsumi.

"Of course, we're together now, after all." Tatsumi said, patting her head softly. "Let's make it a date. What do you say?"

"Okay… I'll hold you to that." she replied, unable to stop the large smile that started to appear on her face. "So stay safe out there and don't get yourself killed."

"How about a kiss for good luck, then?" Tatsumi asked, suddenly sliding in front of Mine, which surprised the pink-haired sniper all of a sudden.

"Geez, you're lucky I love you." Mine said with a pout, before she leaned forward and gave Tatsumi a deep kiss. When the pink-haired sniper broke their liplock a few seconds later, she gently grasped Tatsumi's hands and smiled. "Good luck out there."

"God, this is so sweet that it's making me sick." Leone sighed, standing up from the bed.

"She's just jealous." Tatsumi laughed, giving Mine one last kiss on the forehead. Hopping off the bed, he then made his way out of the room. "Alright, I'll see you guys later."

"That guy…" Mine said with a small smile, before she shook her head and got out of the bed as well and started to get dressed.

"Hey Mine…" Leone said quietly, sliding closer to the pink-haired sniper with a mischievous smile. "You never told me how your night with Tatsumi —"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence." Mine said angrily, turning her head to glare at the busty blonde _**Lionelle**_ user.

* * *

 **(Several Hours Later; Village 10km Away From the Capital)**

"What a boring patrol…" Tatsumi sighed, leaning against a large tree. "I haven't even seen any danger beasts nearby, which is really weird for this place." As he rested against the tree, Tatsumi looked at his pistol. "I may be more used to handling a sword, but I'll need to change into my firearms if I don't want to be overwhelmed." Tatsumi quickly loaded a full clip into his gun, before taking a deep breath. "Okay, now let's get back out there."

However, Tatsumi didn't even took five steps before he heard dozens of screams coming from the nearby village. _"What the hell is going on over there?"_ After a few moments of not doing anything, he shook his head and wiped the sweat off his forehead. " _I should at least check it out."_ Tatsumi thought, racing towards the location where the screams had come from. Quickly reaching the edge of the village, Tatsumi's eyes widened when he saw that most of the homes in the area were on fire.

"What happened to this place?" Tatsumi asked himself, as he slowly began to make his way deeper into the small village, but he was unprepared for what he was about to find. Turning around a corner into the village's main road, Tatsumi stopped dead in his tracks upon what he saw. Littering the street were dozens of mutilated corpses, with most of them missing their heads and various other limbs, while large pools of blood appeared to have flooded both sides of the road. Fighting back the urge to vomit, Tatsumi quickly and carefully made his way over the dead bodies.

"What the fuck happened here?"

Wading through the sea of bodies, Tatsumi eventually crouched down next to the corpse of a small child. The young assassin clenched his fists tightly as he stared at the horrific scene in front of him. There were bodies on both sides of the child, most likely the parents who had died desperately trying to protect their offspring. Turning his head away from the gruesome display, Tatsumi immediately spotted a blood-stained stuffed animal nearby. Unable to stand it anymore, Tatsumi turned his back on the appalling scene. "Son of a bitch… I can't stand much more of this. Whoever's behind this, he's killing people indiscriminately and without mercy."

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Hearing a woman's scream of agony quickly followed by two gunshots, Tatsumi instantly shot to his feet in alarm. "STOP! PLEASE NO! NOT MY STOMACH! STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

 _"Oh shit, I gotta move!"_ Tatsumi thought, as he unsheathed _**Starfall**_ and flew towards the place where he heard the scream. Spotting one of the few homes that were left intact, Tatsumi landed on the ground and burst through the front door with his foot. In a split second, Tatsumi quickly scanned the inside and analyzed the situation in the house.

On the floor in front of him there laid yet another mutilated corpse. Then on the other side of the room, there was a pregnant woman who was backing away from two large, hideously disfigured humanoid monsters. With no time to think, Tatsumi immediately sprang into action as he raised his pistol and fired two rapid shots at the closest monster. His shots were on point, hitting the monster in the head and upper chest. The hideous monster howled in pain as the bullets went right through its body. Before the other monster even had a chance to react, Tatsumi had used _**Starfall**_ to slice through their necks with near-superhuman speed. Both monsters' heads fell to the floor as well as their dead bodies, before Tatsumi flicked the blood off his sword with one swipe. Taking a few moments to breathe deeply in and out, Tatsumi slowly got back onto his feet.

 _"Jesus, what the fuck were those things? They looked like deformed people or something."_ he thought to himself in disgust.

"W-Who are you?" In the rush of fighting the monsters just a few moments ago, Tatsumi had momentarily forgotten about the woman he had just saved. "A-Are you going to kill me?"

"If I was, then I wouldn't have stopped those creatures, lady." Tatsumi said, placing his pistol back in its holster before turning to face the frightened woman. "Are there are any more of those things?"

"I-I don't know…" The woman replied in a shaky voice as she fell to her knees, with tears streaming down her eyes. "T-Those two… things just… just burst through the back door out of nowhere… m-my husband tried to fight them off…" Choking back a sob, the woman hid her face in her hands. "But they killed him… t-they tore him to shreds… if you hadn't showed up, they… they would have killed me and my baby too…"

"Lady…" Tatsumi said in a soft voice, crouching down next to the crying woman as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I know that you've just experienced something horrible and that you're under a lot of stress… but we have to get out of here. We have no idea if more of those things are lurking nearby and I'm not in the mood to face a lot more."

"I-I know… you're right…" The woman said, before she wiped away the tears from her eyes. Using Tatsumi as leverage, the woman got back onto her feet. "It's not safe here to be around here anymore."

"I'll give you a few minutes to gather up any belongings you want to bring along and to say goodbye to your husband." Tatsumi said, before he walked out of the house and on the front steps, releasing a heavy sigh. "I'm glad I managed to save at least one…" Tatsumi muttered, before a small smile flashed across his face. _"I hope that by the time that kid is all grown up, this war will be finished. I don't want any more children to be robbed of their childhood by all this killing…"_

"Thank you for waiting for me." The pregnant woman said, slowly walking out of the house with a small pack. "Where are we going now?"

"Do you have any relatives nearby that you can approach and stay with?" Tatsumi asked, standing back onto his feet and quirking an eyebrow.

"Unfortunately, no…" The woman replied, shaking her head. "I do have a sister, but… she moved to the southern countries several years ago."

"Damn it…" Tatsumi muttered, stroking his chin as he thought. "Alright, it's very risky for me to go there, but I can escort you someplace pretty close to the capital's front gates. You'll be safe from these monsters there."

"Absolutely not." The woman said firmly, locking her gaze with Tatsumi's as her voice turned towards a dark direction. "Me and my husband moved out here to get away from the greed and corruption of the capital. I will not return to a place that we worked so hard to escape from."

"You're really not leaving me a whole lot of options here…" Tatsumi sighed, shaking his head a few times. "Well, I guess there is one thing we _can_ do. There's a Revolutionary Army outpost not too far from here, but it's hidden within a small village. I can speak with the rebels there, and I'm sure they'll take you in and protect you. Once you've rest and recover, I want you to get in contact with your sister and go stay with her for a while. It's going to get really dangerous around here soon and if you want your child to be safe, best follow what I say."

"How do you know about hidden revolutionary army bases?" she asked, giving Tatsumi a suspicious look.

"Let's just say I have a lot of connections." Tatsumi replied, causing the woman to chuckle lightly.

"You're a very strange boy at your age." The woman said, walking up next to Tatsumi. "By the way, you never told me your name, young man."

"Name's Tatsumi." he said, shaking the woman's hand.

"Tatsumi…" The pregnant woman said with a small smile, as she rubbed her swollen stomach. "That's a good name. Oh, and I'm Linda, by the way."

"Well Linda…" Tatsumi said, holding _**Starfall**_ tightly in his grasp. "Let's get you to safety."

* * *

 **(Two Hours Later; Imperial Palace's Throne Room)**

"Thanks to the Jaegers, almost all the rebels within vicinity to the capital have been wiped out." The emperor said with a bright smile, as he sat atop his throne. "You must have Night Raid quaking in their boots, General Esdeath… because they haven't made done anything in the past month. These are truly spectacular results of your security team."

"Thank you sir." Esdeath said, bowing her head slightly. "And once we do find Night Raid's hiding place… we will swiftly destroy them to end this."

"I'm quite glad, but… I apologize that I haven't been able to find a man fitting your criteria." The emperor muttered sadly, rubbing the back of his head. "If you still refuse the minister, then perhaps his son? I believe that he has a very promising future at his age."

"Your highness." Esdeath said, raising her head as she locked gazes. "As I've previously reported, I've already found the man that my heart desires. I'll be quite fine once I find him again and he's in my arms once more."

"But hasn't he disappeared? You've lost your love."

"I keep the hope inside me alive that I will recapture him." Esdeath said, bowing her head once again. "I can't shake off the feeling that I'll be meeting him again quite soon, and we will be together again."

"How moving!" The emperor exclaimed, jumping off his throne in delight.

"It's not that moving…" The minister muttered underneath his breath, rolling his eyes in irritation.

 **(Five Minutes Later; Palace's Dining Hall)**

"It's appears that you have been a large influence on his Highness. He's become very interested in the aspect love, lately." The minister said, glancing at Esdeath who sat at the other end of the table. "But once he's older, it'll just be a full course meal of debauchery, from drinking to women to gourmet… heh. I'm getting giddy just thinking about it."

"And he'll still be your little puppet." Esdeath said with a hint of venom in her words, before allowing a small, fake smile to spread across her face. She may never reveal it in front of others, but the way that the minister controls the Empire from the shadows was something that she despised because of his cowardly method of showing his power. "Then you can continue to bend the government to your will."

"I'll give his Highness…" The minister said with a twisted smile, dropping a few cubes of sugar in his tea. "Sweet, sweet memories. Now then… I have another favor to ask of you, general."

"Alright, let's hear it." Esdeath said as she leaned forward in her seat.

"It's about a new species of danger beasts that have been spotted on the outskirts of the capital." The minister said, setting his teacup down. "I want you to capture and subdue them."

"Oh, that!" she exclaimed, perking up a bit in excitement. "I've actually been looking into that myself. At first, they were only appearing in the deep forest and in the mines… but, just this morning they slaughtered the inhabitants of a small village nearby." However, the woman's eyes narrowed as she remembered the report of the incident she had read earlier. "But it's strange… among the dead in the village were two of those danger beasts. So there may have been a survivor who managed to kill those beasts and escape."

"Interesting… we'll have to try and find this person. Maybe we'll be able to 'squeeze' some information out of them." The minister smirked evilly, stroking his beard. "But back to the topic. Apparently, these new danger beasts are very humanoid… don't you think they'd make very entertaining toys?"

 _"Danger beasts like these should be hunted to extinction… so I don't have time for your silly games."_ Esdeath thought, releasing a sigh of boredom. _"Besides, when I'm hunting, I don't enjoy toying with these beasts. I prefer going in for the kill since nothing could be gained by torturing them."_

"I've already ordered General Budo to eradicate them all." The minister explained, leaning forward in his chair as well. "But, I want you to look more into it just for good measure."

"If that is your wish, so be it." Esdeath replied, adjusting her cap before rising from her seat. "Ever since I've heard about these danger beasts, I've had a burning desire to hunt them. I'll try to capture two or three alive for you, but no one separates me from the rest of my prey. You can thank me by sending extra supplies to my soldiers in the North."

"You're as dedicated to your men as ever, general." The minister said, taking another sip of his tea.

"The better you treat your soldiers, the more they'll respect you. Then they'll fight even harder for you, and be more willing to throw themselves into the fight, even if it leads to death." Esdeath said with a hint of sarcasm, a smile spreading across her face, before she turned her back to the minister and began to make her way out of the room. "That's one of the reasons why my men are known as the strongest fighters there are."

 **(Several Hours Later; Outside the Gates of the Capital)**

"Hurry the hell up, man…" A merchant hissed to his partner as he trembled in his seat. "We need to reach the city while there's still some light out!"

"I know, God dammit…" the carriage driver grumbled, urging the horses to go faster. "The sooner we get out of this hellhole, the —" the man was then cut off from his words when a group of humanoid monsters walked out of the forest in front of them and blocked off the road. "SHIT! T-T-T-THEY'RE HERE!" Both merchants screamed in horror, as the group of danger beasts had rushed towards their carriage.

However, before the danger beasts could reach the them, a small girl in white had kicked an approaching monster away.

The girl had long white hair that was tied in a ponytail, and she had a mask over her mouth that looked like a scarf with a red jewel at the end of it, which would hide her identity to anyone. She was wearing a white coat with large sleeves ending on her elbow and its collar as well as the surrounding area around it had a golden filled with various jewelry, with a few buttons on its bottom part left open; the coat had multiple gold linings and a few other jewelry were scattered in various parts of it. A black cape split into two was directly connected to it, designed with gold linings as well that made it look like she had wings.

She was also wearing a black tank top underneath, white bandages on her left arm, and black gloves with spiked brass knuckles and holes that served to allow her sharp claws to grow out from her fingernails. She had black leggings and to complete her outfit, she was wearing black high-heels with gold linings on its heels and soles.

It was the Girl of the Bloody Snow, Marina Brooks.

"This will be quick." she said in an emotionless tone just as another danger beast began to charge towards her. Rolling out of the way, Marina pounced on the beast and sat on its shoulders, slashing the face before slicing its head off with her claws. She then released the dead danger beast and jumped off it as she landed on the ground. "Your blood makes me hungry for more." Marina ran towards the next one and jumped on its shoulders again, repeating the same thing she did to the monster before by beheading it.

"You guys are making a mess everywhere!" A new voice said, and the rest of the monsters turned their heads to see Ren running towards them, before he took a deep breath and breathed out a continuous stream of fire from his mouth that headed for the danger beasts. One of the monsters had been caught in the fire immediately got incinerated alive, and causing the surviving monsters to quickly turn and around and flee into the surrounding forest.

Releasing a light sigh when she saw that Ren took care of the remaining monsters, Marina turned to the two merchants. "The monsters are gone, both of you are safe now." However, Marina's imposing outfit still scared the two men and caused them to sweat in nervousness.

"Don't worry about her, she's harmless." The carriage driver nearly jumped out of his boots when he felt a hand land on his shoulder. He then turned around to see a young red-haired man wearing an Imperial Guard uniform. "Everything is alright now. The Jaegers are here to help the citizens of the capital."

"O-Oh! I see now…" The driver said as he rubbed the back of his head. "You're all soldiers from the capital, right? Then we're totally saved!"

Back in the forest, the escaping danger beasts hadn't made it very far before ice began to encase their feet, and eventually covering their entire body. Emerging from a nearby group of trees, Esdeath and Kurome then approached the trapped monsters.

"Just as I thought…" Esdeath said, approaching the closest frozen danger beast before tapping the ice shell. "Looks like we have managed to capture all of the ones that ran away." Walking around the frozen group, Esdeath began to inspect the strange beast. "Interesting… I've truly never came across this type of danger beast before." Releasing a light sigh, Esdeath placed her hands on her hips. "Alright Kurome, let's gather everyone up and get these beasts back to the capital." However, she sighed once again when she caught Kurome staring at the frozen monsters with a thin line of drool spilling from the corner of her mouth. "And don't even think about eating them."

* * *

 **(One Hour Later; The Imperial Palace)**

"Wave. Kurome." Bols announced, walking into the Jaeger's meeting room while carrying a small tray. "I've made us some tea. You can join in as well, Ren and Marina."

"Thanks for always going through the trouble." Wave said, looking away from the chess game that he was playing with Kurome.

"Yeah, thanks." Kurome said with a warm smile, as she ate one of her candies from her small bag.

"Oh, it's nothing." Bols chuckled, waving them dismissively. "I actually enjoy doing things like this for everyone." However, Bols stopped in his own words when he saw that Wave appeared to be quite frustrated over something. "Is something wrong, Wave?"

"I… I just don't like it…" Wave muttered, clenching his fists tightly. "You're such a good guy, Bols… but everyone around you just act like those merchants from before… they just judge you by your looks."

"If I remember right, you weren't too much different." Kurome pointed out with a cute look, causing Wave's face to flush red in embarrassment.

"That was back then, damn it!" Wave exclaimed as he slammed his fist on the table.

"Wave." Bols said, setting a cup of tea down in front of his comrade. "I believe I already told you this. I'm not a nice guy… I've incinerated whole villages that were plagued by disease… burned men at the stake who pleaded their innocence… if you compare me to Ren, I've handled the worse flames for as long as I can remember…" Bols stared down at his hands, envisioning the countless people that he had killed. "That's why I think so many people hate me…"

"But you were only following your orders as a soldier!" Wave exclaimed, standing up from his seat.

"Even if somebody else had to do it… I did what I did…" Bols said, releasing a heavy sigh. "And those frightened reactions I get from those I save… it's what I deserve."

"Dude…" Wave said, staring at the large man in concern. "Don't talk like that." Letting out a loud sigh, Wave sat back down in his seat. "Look man, if you ever —" However, Wave was cut off from his words when the door to the room suddenly opened. Turning his head to whoever went inside, the dark-haired man was surprised to see a beautiful woman holding a young girl in her arms. "Who are —"

"Hi, honey!" The woman said with a large smile on her face.

"Daddy!" The little girl cheered as she reached out to Bols.

"Whoa! Wait, what are you two doing here?!" Bols exclaimed in shock, walking up to the two.

 _"Wait a second!"_ Wave thought, alternately turning his gaze between Bols and the two newcomers. " _That's Bols' wife and child?! Are you kidding me?!"_

"Oh, you silly guy." the woman giggled, holding out a small, neatly wrapped box. "You were in such a rush this morning that you forgot the boxed lunch we made for you."

"Daddy, you're so forgetful!" The young girl giggled, handing her father his lunch.

 _"I-Is this really happening?"_ Wave thought, as he sweatdropped. _"This scene is happening like it's straight out of a old sitcom…"_

"You have such a tough job, honey." she said, gently rubbing her husband's cheek. "You need to keep up your strength so you'll be able to handle it."

"You're absolutely right!" Bols cheered happily, as he wrapped his arm around his wife's waist. "I promise I'll be more careful in the future, sweetie."

"Daddy, give me an uppy!" The young blonde girl exclaimed, tugging on Bols' pants.

"Of course, that's my good girl…" Bols said, as he picked the small girl up and carried her on his shoulder. Bols then turned to Kurome and Wave while laughing heartily. "My wife and daughter know all about what I do for the capital, but they still support me! So no matter how tough I may have it or when it comes to me… as long as I have my family, I'll be fine."

 _"OH GOD!"_ Wave thought, shielding his eyes from a blinding light that seemed to be emanating off Bols and his family. _"It's so bright! Their love is too pure!"_ Wave then hung his head in defeat. "I'm totally useless…" he said in an embarrassed tone, crying anime tears as Kurome patted him on the shoulder in sympathy.

From the other side of the room, Marina was enjoying a cup of tea with Ren sitting beside her. She was still wearing the same outfit when she was in battle earlier, only she didn't have her mask on. "Bols has a family?" she asked, looking up at Ren.

"Oh yeah, I think I remember him mentioning it one time…" he replied, rubbing his chin.

Over the past weeks, Ren was mainly the one who could be seen by Marina's side, doing his best to help the white-haired girl adjust to her new life in the palace along with the other Jaegers. Esdeath had assigned him personally to do the task since she noticed that Marina didn't seem to be _that_ scared of Ren as compared to when Bols tried going near her.

However, due to her being in prison for 8 years, it proved to be a challenging task for Ren. But that didn't stop him as he had his attention towards Marina almost all the time, earning her full trust as well as helping her to give her comrades a chance to earn her trust as well.

At the moment, she is also trying to open up to the other Jaegers, just like what happened to Ren. It was almost as if she was back to her old self.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she pouted cutely, staring up at the red-haired man.

"Well, it must have slipped my mind… sorry…" he couldn't help but grin in embarrassment, rubbing the back of his head as a small blush appeared on his face.

"Hmph… I'll only accept your apology when you buy me ice cream," she crossed her arms and huffed.

"It's the only way?" he sighed, setting down his teacup.

Marina kept her angry look for strong for a few more seconds before a smile broke out on her face, as she laughed. "Ren, you're too easy to fool… you should be more aware, you know… it's good advice while in — hey!" she was then cut off from her words when she got lifted off her seat.

"Fine, I guess this should shut you up…" said Ren, carrying Marina off the couch piggyback-style as he headed for the door. "But after this, no more complaining."

The young girl could only keep her head low to hide her blush, having been caught off guard with his action. " _Idiot… it was just a joke… why did you have you to take it seriously, Ren?"_ she thought to herself, forcing to wrap her arms around his neck to prevent herself from falling off.

Wave managed to snap out of stupor that he managed to see Ren leaving with Marina on his back. "Ren, where are you going?" he asked his red-haired comrade.

"Gonna go out to the capital for a bit. Marina wants some ice cream, so I'm gonna buy her some." Ren answered with a shrug, before grinning widely.

"I want ice cream too." said Kurome, raising her arm.

"Ok sure, Kurome." Ren chuckled in amusement, opening the door to the room. "I'll see if I can get some for you too."

"I get that, but why the hell are you carrying Marina on your back? She have a fracture or something?" Wave pointed out, quirking an eyebrow at him.

Ren shrugged. "No reason. I'll see you all later!" he waved his arm goodbye as he headed out with a fuming red Marina clinging on his back.

Wave couldn't help but feel curious with what he just saw between his two comrades earlier. " _Could it be that there's something going on between those two? They've grown a lot closer these past few weeks, after all… wait no, that's impossible. I don't think Ren is into romance…"_ he chuckled, dismissing that particular thought.

* * *

 _ **Well, I hope you all liked this update and stay tuned for the next one!**_

 _ **Harem (Final): Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review.**_

 _ **If you want to catch up with me and your other favorite writers, join our Discord server:**_

[discord . gg / uDxVym8]

 _ **To those who want to join our Akame ga kill server…**_

[discord. gg / VX6sVkq]

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	30. Kill the Reunion

_**Hey, everyone! Get ready for a big chapter with this update! Thank you for 200 favorites, reviews, and follows! Please support this fanfic more as I am extremely motivated with your actions, especially your reviews! Next goal would be 500!**_

 _ **Bismarck Alexander: Yes, I did. Credits to Fairy Tail and the original artist for the song, though.**_

 _ **Note: Vote in the poll, dudes. And I also need ideas for an arc that happens between Bolic Arc and Chelsea's Death arc. PM me or post a review about ideas that you have and I'll try and see if I fan add it. If you have any further ideas for the story, they are gladly welcomed. (Except flames, please no haha)**_

"Normal Talking"

" _Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I am don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters… I also don't own the song here…**_

* * *

 _ **-Start song (Fairy Tail OP 16 - Strike Back) -**_

 **Wooooaaahhh… wooaah… woooaaahh… woaaaoohh…**

 _-Tatsumi is standing on top of a hilltop as the sun starts to rise before it cuts to his face, with him closing his eyes_

 **(Strike Back!)**

 _-Tatsumi snaps his eyes open and slashes across the screen, and the Akame ga Kill! logo shows during the instrumental_

 **Kidō sura kae rarenai kurai no kakuritsuda to shite mo**

 _-The Emperor and Honest are standing on the palace's balcony, watching at the war between the Revolutionary Army and the Empire_

 **ippāsento demo areba mo chiron teikō desho?**

 _-The members of Night Raid and the Jaegers start walking towards each other, with Najenda and Esdeath leading their respective groups_

 **Shosen, 'unmei' to nagetsuke raretatte, No I Won't!**

 _-In the Jaegers' Meeting Room, Marina gets introduced to the other Jaegers and she smiles before she found herself staring at Ren_

 **Hikkurikaeshite, Because**

 _-Chelsea looks back behind her with a horrified look on her face as blood covers the screen_

 **datte kimi to mirai wo miretara saikō janai?**

 _-An lifeless arm covered in blood falls to the ground in a puddle of blood and images of Akame, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Spear, Sayo, and Chelsea appear one-by-one before a black boot stomps on the puddle of blood_

 **Bring it on! cuz I'm just gonna grow up in the battle HEY!**

 _-A young Tatsumi and Esdeath are shown fighting each other in the tournament at the Northern Region_

 **Buchi nuku donten! Still burning my fire**

 _-Back in the battlefield, Run flies through the sky and kills several soldiers from above_

 **ten wo kirisaku raimei**

 _-Ren and Bols work together with their flames to burn down and weaken the attacking army_

 **I gotta kakikesu**

 _-Wave fights and quickly wins against several rebels with his Grand Chariot_

 **Nightmare tada mirai ga mitakute!**

 _-Kurome unsheathes Yatsufusa and cuts down all the soldiers in her way while Marina, in her combat outfit, sliced her way through everyone with her claws as she slashes the screen_

 **Kako,**

 _-Tatsumi shows up with a determined expression_

 **mirai,**

 _-Akame is seen with a very sad look on her face_

 **soshite iki teru ima,**

 _-Kurome cries into Wave's clothes as she hugged him_

 **I ain't scared of my past and now for taku sa reta asu**

 _-All of the members of Night Raid charge on into battle, pulling out their respective teigus_

 **Screaming out for my pride!**

 _-Esdeath flashes a sadistic grin_

 **Namida mitakunai kara, sakebi tsuzukeru yo! Zutto…**

 _-Tatsumi wipes the tears from his eyes as he flew down the hilltop and zoomed towards Esdeath despite the icicles that she sent to attack him_

 **(I'm never falling down! Oi kaze wo se ni fukitobasu Destiny!)**

 _-Tatsumi and Esdeath fight each other at a very fast pace that no one could catch up with their movements_

 **Kono senaka ni aru,**

 _-Akame faces off with Kurome on opposite sides of the battlefield with tears in her eyes_

 **egao mamoritai kara!**

 _-The rest of Night Raid assemble in the battlefield and prepare to fight back_

 **Zutto… (I gotta blast off your pain for you and me!)**

 _-Ren is sitting in his room, alone, as he flashed a dark look while imagining how would it be like when he has Akame to himself_

 **(Kanashimi nante Rest in peace!)**

 _-Marina hugs Ren from behind and he is shocked, cutting off his dark thoughts_

 **Nando demo…**

 _-Tatsumi charges towards Esdeath one last time as it cuts to the sky, a shooting star seen visible as it flew through the air_

 _ **-End of song-**_

* * *

 **(Same Time; Forest Just Outside Night Raid's Temporary Base)**

"Fuck, I'm getting tired…" Tatsumi groaned, walking back towards Night Raid's temporary hideout. "After fighting those fucking monsters and escorting Linda to that Revolutionary Army camp, I've gone way past my time limit… I was supposed to be back at the hideout hours ago. I could've flown back, but I can't risk anybody knowing the location of our temporary hideout…" Releasing a heavy sigh, Tatsumi ran his fingers through his hair in nervousness. "Boss is gonna be so pissed at me… and I probably worried Akame and the others. I know I took another risk by leading her to that camp, but I just couldn't leave Linda alone… not after what happened to her husband." Tatsumi muttered, his eyes narrowing at remembering the horrific displays he had seen in the small village. "There's no way I could abandon her in such a terrible place."

And that was when he heard a new voice.

"I don't care, damn it! He was supposed to be back four hours ago!"

"That definitely sounds like Akame." Tatsumi said, as he walked up the steps leading to the cottage. "Damn, I better get in there before I make her worry even more, which will lead to her killing me."

"Don't try to stop me! I'm going to look for him! I'm not losing him!" Tatsumi then stopped dead in his tracks when the front door suddenly swung open that it nearly hit him and he came face-to-face with Akame, the red-eyed beauty almost crashing right into him. Both assassins simply stared at each other for a few moments, before Akame's eyes widened in shock. "T-Tatsumi?"

"Sorry, I got home so late…" Tatsumi chuckled weakly, rubbing the back of his head in shame. "A lot of things happened on the way and… I got side tracked for a while." However, he was instantly slammed by a wave a guilt when he saw the tears that were starting to form in Akame's eyes. "Oh no, I'm… I'm sorry Akame, I didn't —"

"You idiot!" Akame exclaimed, lunging at Tatsumi and giving him a bone crushing hug. Tatsumi could feel the girl's hot tears on his skin, as Akame buried her face into the crook of his neck. "I was so worried about you! I thought you were hurt… or that you had been captured again!"

"I'm sorry for worrying you, Akame… but there was something that I had to do while I was out on patrol." Tatsumi replied, pulling her closer towards him and doing his best to comfort her. As Tatsumi embraced Akame, he looked up to see Leone and Mine glaring at him with eyes full of anger. Grinning nervously, Tatsumi continued in his words. "Now if you let go of me, I can explain why I was gone for so long."

"Okay…" Akame muttered with a smile, wiping away her tears. "I already feel better knowing that you're safe, Tatsumi."

"Well explain now Tatsumi, because I would like to hear why you went over your deadline by almost four hours." Najenda said in an irritated tone, drumming her fingers on her mechanical arm. "It better be a good reason, because I'm quite upset with you right now, adding to the fact that you're supposed to be one of Night Raid's best members."

"It _is_ a good reason boss." Tatsumi said, as he stepped forward and planted his hands inside his pockets. "While I was out on patrol, I passed by a small village somewhere near the capital. When I stopped to take a break, I heard various screams coming from within the village. I quickly went there to investigate and I saw that of the buildings were on fire. The streets were also filled with blood and the mutilated bodies of the villagers. Before I had a chance to leave the place, I heard another scream. I tried finding where it came from and I came across a pregnant woman about to be attacked by two humanoid looking danger beasts that I'm pretty sure none of us have seen before. After I killed those beasts, I escorted the woman to a nearby Revolutionary Army base to ensure her safety."

"Well, if you put it that way, I guess that is a pretty good reason…" Najenda said, rubbing the back of her head before releasing a sigh of contentment. "You did good saving that woman Tatsumi."

"I don't know about that." Chelsea said, appearing from around a corner. "I think you took a big risk, Tatsumi. What if that woman reports that Revolutionary Army camp to the Capital?"

"That's where you're wrong." Tatsumi waved her off, smirking at the auburn-haired girl. "She won't do anything like that, I guarantee."

"And how could you be so sure about that?" Chelsea asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Because she told me that she and her husband left the Capital to get away from all the corruption and greed in the first place. Won't make sense for her to go back and report the Revolutionary Army." Tatsumi replied, causing Chelsea to scoff.

"And you believed her that easily?" she said, as she rolled her eyes. Perhaps this was her chance to finally find a human side to Tatsumi and make him see the error of his actions. "Maybe I misjudged you, Tatsumi. You still have a long way to go as an assassin."

He crossed his arms and snickered. "I don't need you to lecture me or anything. You're not my mother or my guardian to tell me what to do. I do what I think is right, and it doesn't involve taking orders from you."

Chelsea was pleasantly surprised with his answer, but she managed to keep herself calm. "Cocky, are we? With that attitude of yours, you'll get us all killed before this war reaches its climax. If you think you're acting like some kind of hero in the eyes of many, you're not. At least you'll have to prove it first."

"Geez, you're worried about that?" he rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine, let's say you're right and that woman really was planning to report me to the Capital, but so what? She's in a Revolutionary Army Camp, so I doubt the folks there would let her walk around without keeping an eye on her. If she does try something, she'll be killed. Simple as that. You're just being paranoid, Chelsea."

Her eyes widened. "What? I-I'm not —"

"And I never said I was a hero. I'm not trying to act like one and I don't want to be one." he said firmly, clenching his fist a bit. "I've had way too many sins to even be considered one. As of now, I'm just acting out of my own will and conscience, which is why I rescued that woman… and I can tell that despite your attitude, you have a human side in you as well, Chelsea."

Tatsumi then looked at the auburn-haired girl, who seemed to be too shocked to even say anything else.

"Look Chelsea, I get it. I understand where you're coming from, okay? You're worried about losing anyone else close to you, and you're just looking out for your comrades. But you can't let that fear make you distrust everyone around you. Not everyone in the world is evil, and if that was true, then why are we trusting each other? Hell, even some of the people working for the capital are good at heart, and they just got caught up fighting for the wrong side." Tatsumi sent a glance at Akame, remembering her story as he walked over to Chelsea and placed his hands on her shoulders, a smile plastered on his face.

"Trust me, I get it. You don't need to be indirect, Chelsea."

"Tatsumi… I… I… you know…" she stammered, a slight blush beginning to spread across her face both at his answer and their sudden closeness. "You know I didn't mean —"

"Listen…" Tatsumi said, tightening his grip on the girl's shoulders. "You don't have have to be scared about any of us dying. I'll make sure that won't happen. I made the same promise with Akame and Sayo, so I'll make it with you as well. I promise that you'll never have to bury me or any more comrades ever again, Chelsea. I'll do everything I can to make sure that we'll get through this with no one else dying."

Chelsea's eyes widened once again, tears threatening to fall from her scarlet orbs. "And in exchange, try to trust people a little more, including us. We're comrades, after all." Chelsea stared at Tatsumi for a few more moments, before a smile spread across her face.

"Heh… hahahaha! Ahahahaha!" she chuckled, wiping a tear from her eye. "You really are an interesting guy, Tatsumi. Looks like I was wrong again." Brushing Tatsumi's hands off her shoulders, Chelsea stuck out her pinkie. "Alright Tatsumi, if you promise that no more of our comrades will die, then… I suppose I can try trusting other people more."

"You're on." Tatsumi said, locking pinkies with Chelsea, solidifying their promise.

"And you know what's gonna happen if you break that promise, right?" Chelsea said with a sweet smile, as she made a snipping motion with her fingers. "I'll cut them off, even if I have to find you in hell to do it."

"I'll take off your skirt first before that happens." Tatsumi smirked, causing Chelsea to blush furiously and he moved away before she could even slap or do something to him, and he was right when she did try to kick him in the jewels.

"Tatsumi, you said the danger beasts that you fought were humanoid, correct?" Najenda asked, quirking an eyebrow.

He nodded in response.

"Well, they might have been the exact danger beasts I've been receiving reports about. Apparently, extremely aggressive humanoid danger beasts have been popping up all around the capital and attacking people randomly. We've actually been tasked with stopping them."

"That's great! When are we getting some action, then?" Tatsumi asked enthusiastically, clenching his fist tightly.

"Well, I also just got word that our new base has been finished. I'll brief you all of our new mission once we get there." Najenda said, lighting a cigarette as she turned to the others. "Alright, everyone pack up! We're leaving in ten minutes!"

"Guess I should get ready to move…" Tatsumi grinned, feeling excited for their upcoming mission which was the first in about a month. However, the young man was stopped in his tracks when Sayo walked in front of him. "What's wrong, Sayo?"

The dark-haired girl just narrowed her eyes in response.

Having a pretty good idea of what was going to happen, Tatsumi wasn't surprised when Sayo suddenly punched him in the arm quite hard. Although he had shrugged it off, Tatsumi rubbed the spot where she had just hit him. "Yeah, I guess I deserved that one, didn't I?" he said nervously.

"Stop worrying me like that, you asshole." Sayo said with a slight blush on her face, before she turned around and stormed off.

Before he could even contemplate what just happened, Spear had appeared before him and quickly wrapped her arms around his body before she pulled away after a split-second and turned her gaze away. Although he couldn't see it, he could tell that her sudden embrace was out of worry, and it meant that she had also feared the worst when he was out for several hours.

"I guess I'll apologize to the two of them as well later… Sayo looks pissed off and Spear… got really worried, like Akame…" Tatsumi said, turning around to go pack his things. However, he was again stopped when Seryu was already in front of him, staring into his eyes with a worried look on her face.

"What, you're gonna punch me too? I'm game." Tatsumi shrugged, sighing as he looked to the side with a small pout. He hated the fact that he made them all worry about him when nothing bad really happened to him, yet he then noticed that Seryu wasn't doing anything to him after a few moments.

"You can't keep risking your life fighting for justice, Tatsumi… I've learned that long ago." Seryu said in a worried tone, putting her hands on his shoulders.

He sighed, massaging his forehead with his fingers. "I know that, but I can't help —" he was then cut off in his words when Seryu suddenly leaned forward to plant a gentle kiss on his cheek, causing his eyes to widen in surprise.

No more than a second later, she had pulled back with a warm smile on her face whilst she was blushing slightly. "Just don't take on everything by yourself… we're all in this together, and justice will be achieved if we work as one."

Tatsumi was too shocked to even make a reply, gaping at Seryu with a furious blush beginning to appear on his face.

Seryu smiled at him one last time before she walked past him, off to pack her things for their trip to the new hideout. Tatsumi kept his gaze towards her, immediately taking into account what she just did moments earlier.

" _D-Did Seryu just… kiss me?"_ he thought to himself.

However, before he could think about this particular issue more, the sound of a dog barking had cut him off his thoughts. Looking down, Tatsumi saw Koro pointing to a picture on the floor that the teigu had drawn using a nearby marker. It was a poorly drawn picture of his and Seryu's face inside a big heart, as Koro rolled over on the floor laughing.

A tick mark appeared on Tatsumi's head as he smacked Koro on the head quite hard, causing him to whimper in pain as a medium-sized lump grew near the teigu's ear.

"Stop fooling around and help her pack up, you stupid teigu!" Tatsumi yelled through shark teeth, making Koro walk away as the teigu hung its head in shame.

"Tch, that dog sure is annoying… I'll need to clean this up…" Tatsumi sighed, about to get some cleaning materials but he stopped yet again when he saw Leone and Mine staring at him. "Alright, I guess it's your turn. Come here, you two." he sighed, giving in to his guilt as he embraced his two lovers.

As everyone left to gather their belongings, Chelsea hung back and ducked out of sight. The auburn-haired girl had rushed towards a corner, a fierce blush burning on her face as she clutched a hand over her pounding heart. _"Damn it… why does my heart race whenever he's around? And how the hell does he keep beating me in my own game?"_

 **(The Next Morning; About 15 km Northeast of the Capital)**

"So… this is our new base?" Tatsumi asked with a deadpanned expression as he stared up at Night Raid's new base, which was almost an exact replica of their old hideout back then. "It… doesn't really look like a new hideout to me when it looks the same."

"Yeah, when you consider how hard it is to find and how easy it is to get out of, it's already a lot like our old base." Akame nodded, hugging Tatsumi right arm as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I don't care how it looks…" Mine grinned as she rested her hands on her hips. "I'm just glad this place has a hot springs… now it'll be easier to take a steamy bath after missions!"

"We should have some drinks there when we finish working." Leone said with a mischievous smirk, leaning over Tatsumi so that her large breasts were resting on his shoulder. "Maybe you'd care to join us, Tatsumi? I wouldn't mind washing your back or…" Leaning in further, Leone whispered hotly into Tatsumi's ear in an effort to tease him. "Your front…"

"Oh, sign me up for that." Chelsea teased, leaning in closer with a mischievous smirk of her own.

"I was going to help Akame and Su with dinner for tonight, and then I'll be catching up on some practice at the shooting range with Mine since it's been a long time ever since I got back there…" he said, waving them off as Leone sent Akame an envious pout while Chelsea resisted the urge to sigh at her inability to tease or make Tatsumi embarrassed just for once for a change.

"Najenda!" Lubbock exclaimed, running up to the group of assassins. "I just finished putting up the barrier around the hideout so we could watch out for intruders!"

"Nice work, Lubbock." Najenda complimented with a wink, just as Susanoo returned, holding a shovel that was resting on his shoulder.

"I've finished digging the emergency escape passage for us in case of an urgent situation." Susanoo said, stopping in front of the silver-haired woman.

"Oh! That was really fast. I knew you could do it, Susanoo." Najenda said with a grin, shaking her head in amusement at seeing Lubbock's face. "Now our new hideout is pretty much up and running once again."

"Damn it…" Lubbock growled, gritting his teeth before storming over to Susanoo. "Don't think you've won! This is not over yet!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Susanoo asked as he raised an eyebrow in confusion.

 _"Man, he's got some really insecurity problems…"_ Tatsumi sweat-dropped, before he turned back to their new base with a smile. "So this is our new base, eh? It might not be too different, but I think this'll make it easier to treat the place as home."

 **(Ten Minutes Later; Night Raid's Meeting Room)**

"I know we've only just settled in…" Najenda said, breathing out a puff of smoke. "But our target is a new variety of danger beast. And it appears that Tatsumi has already fought two of the monsters and can attest to their strength." Taking the cigarette out of her mouth, she released a light sigh. "In most instances, they've been moving around in large hordes and they exhibit slight signs of intelligence as a result. According to reports, they're also physically very tough and have given even the most skilled fighters a run for their money. They've been lurking in the caves and mines to the south of the capital… doing nothing but eat people and livestock with a seemingly bottomless appetite. It seems that the Jaegers and imperial guards have been driving them back during daily raids. However, these monsters must be quite plentiful, because they're still being spotted all over the whole place."

"Well, if the empire has their hands full with them, then it must be for real… otherwise, the minister would just let them be." Spear deduced, twirling her spear in her fingers.

"I know it seems like we'll be aligned with the empire for this mission…" Najenda said, dropping her cigarette and lighting a fresh one. "But will you still help out?"

"Of course!" Tatsumi exclaimed, punching his fist into his palm. "After witnessing what happened in Linda's village, there's no way I can just stand back and do nothing. More innocent people will get harmed if we don't deal with them sooner."

"Tatsumi's right." Akame chimed in, resting her hand on _**Murasame's**_ hilt. "This is not a band of beasts we can allow to wander around freely in the capital."

"And I've been dying to release some built-up stress that's haunting me for a whole month now…" Leone said with a wicked grin as she cracked her knuckles in excitement.

 _"We really should just be leaving this pointless issue to the Jaegers. These guys are way too optimistic in what they're doing…"_ Chelsea thought, leaning against a nearby wall with her arms crossed over her chest. However, a small smile spread across Chelsea's face when her eyes landed on Tatsumi. _"But I guess being a little optimistic isn't such a bad thing. If I said anything to try and lecture him, he'd just go on about how we're all assassins but we're also on the people's side… and that we need to stop these things so we save more lives. So… I think I'll just keep to myself this time."_

"Tatsumi!" A sudden exclamation from Susanoo had suddenly snapped Chelsea out of her thoughts. "I have something dire to tell you!"

"What's up, Su?" Tatsumi asked, quirking an eyebrow in confusion. "Your fly is open." Susanoo replied, pointing to Tatsumi's open zipper. "It's distracting me, so please fix it!"

"Wait, what! What the fuck?!" Tatsumi exclaimed in shock, fixing up his fly. However, the zipper appeared to be stuck as he couldn't close it. Too distracted with fixing his own wardrobe malfunction, he didn't notice almost all of his friends were desperately holding in their laughter.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Leone bellowed in laughter, holding onto her sides as she slammed her fist on the floor over and over. "After you just sounded so brave and badass! I'm sorry Tatsumi, but that was such a letdown to the moment!"

"Hey, hey!" Lubbock cheered, as he danced around Tatsumi. Even Najenda herself had covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a chuckle because of what happened. "How's it feel, buddy?! How's it feel?!"

 _"I can't believe I fell in love with this guy."_ Mine thought, pinching the bridge of her nose before she allowed a small smile to appear on her face.

 _"Damn it… what the hell's gone wrong with this stupid zipper?"_ Tatsumi thought, gripping his pants as he tried to pull up his open fly. While he was still distracted fixing his clothes, Sayo, Akame and Spear were doing their best to hold in their laughter. Seryu was looking concerned for him yet she had a smile on her face, while Lubbock continued to dance around and mock him.

"I-I'm sorry Tatsumi…" Akame managed to say, doing her best to stifle her giggles. "I noticed before Su, but I thought you were trying to make some kind of fashion statement."

"Really? I don't see how this could be considered fashion." Tatsumi said in a sarcastic way, waving her off.

"Don't worry, Tatsumi." Akame said as she crouched in front of the young assassin and stared directly at his zipper. "From now on, I'll be much more diligent about keeping my eyes peeled for it. I shall warn you regarding the next time it happens."

"Thanks… goddamn zipper! Why won't you close up?!" Tatsumi said with a smile, before he gave in to frustration as his zipper was still stuck until now. "Screw this pair of pants! Making me go through this now!"

Sayo grinned, her eyes showing a mischievous glint. "HA! It looks like even the toughest-looking assassin in our groups has his moments of —" she was then cut off when Tatsumi grabbed his pants and pulled them down in front of everyone, and causing almost all of them to shriek in surprise (including Lubbock) at his sudden intimate action.

"DUDE, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Lubbock screeched out as Tatsumi pulled his pants down completely, only to reveal…

"There, problem solved!" Tatsumi sighed.

Another pair of pants underneath.

"It's a good thing I got these spare pants under…" he sighed in relief, stepping out of the pair he was using and slinging it over his shoulder. Finally having solved this particular issue, he raised his head and looked at his friends. "So anyway, as I was saying, we should —"

He noticed that almost everyone was looking at him with a deadpanned expression as wind blew through the whole room.

"Uh, is something wrong?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow at their gobsmacked expressions.

"I… did _not_ expect him to have another one underneath…" Spear muttered, hanging her head as her hair shadowed over her eyes.

"Tatsumi has pants inside his pants?" Seryu asked innocently, scratching her head as Koro was on the floor with spirals replacing his eyes, in disbelief with what the young man in front of them just did. "Can that even work if I try it?"

Lubbock fell to his knees and hung his head. "I underestimated him. He's the epitome of a man's boldness!" he exclaimed, anime tears flowing out of his eyes as he spread his arms out wide in despair.

Mine fell backwards and fainted, both in relief that Tatsumi didn't strip in front of her and at the same time, out of disappointment that she didn't get to see him show some skin.

"Okay… you guys are acting weird…" Tatsumi sweat-dropped, smiling in embarrassment.

"This is how my men are." Najenda said as she walked up next to Chelsea, keeping the look of amusement on her face. "Don't let them bother you too much, Chelsea… they're always like this."

"It's fine… but I'm worried… I saw the records. Sheele and Bulat were exactly like this…" Chelsea muttered, watching Tatsumi with sadness in her eyes. "I'm afraid that someday, this kind of optimism will get Tatsumi killed. And add to that chance the fact that he doesn't give a shit about what I say…"

* * *

 **(Same Time; Imperial Palace's Garden)**

"Run… I wish to speak with you." Esdeath said, gazing at the array of the beautiful flowers that filled the palace's garden. "According to what the minister found out, those new danger beasts roaming around the capital used to be human."

"Just as I thought…" Run muttered, stroking his chin. "I figured their physical characteristics were too close to find out. Men who have transformed into monsters… only the power of a teigu could possibly do that. It's more than likely, that those beasts are the results of Stylish's experiments. They only started appearing shortly after he went missing and most likely, killed."

"Do you have any other ways to support your theory?" Esdeath asked, turning her head to glance back at Run in slight interest.

"Well… when I searched the doctor's lab earlier… I thought it was far too clean." Run explained, crossing his arms. "Even though he was supposed to be researching a wide variety of things, the inside of his lab was quite immaculate and undisturbed. It looked like it was untouched."

"So, you're suggesting that he had a secret lab somewhere else?" Esdeath asked.

Run nodded before releasing a light sigh. "Yes. Perhaps those monsters that he'd been keeping there managed to get out. It's also possible… that there's a completely unrelated third-party teigu involved in this. However that is too outlandish to even consider as a possible option."

"Just as I pictured…" Esdeath thought, gently plucking a flower before twirling it in between her fingers. _"Run is quite handy off the battlefield as well…"_

"That strongly suggests that the doctor didn't encounter the enemy to find Tatsumi, General." Run continued on, closing his eyes as he bowed his head slightly. "Or rather, after he discovered the enemy's hideout… he engaged them head-on with the hopes of gaining more materials and subjects for his experiments, only to be killed in the process."

"Damn it…" Esdeath muttered, clenching her fist to crush the flower in her hand. "Perhaps he was even crazier then I thought… I feel delighted to have recruited Marina with this knowledge."

"But there must be some limit to these danger beasts," the blonde man pointed out as he raised his head. "Even as we speak, Marina and the others are working to take them out."

"That's not what I'm really concerned about at the momemt." Esdeath said, standing back upright. "The real question is, did those beasts get out on there own? Or did someone let them loose with some kind of key?"

Run's eyes momentarily upon realizing the senss behind Esdeath's words. "I see." he muttered, regaining his composure afterwards. "I will look into this matter further."

"I leave it in your hands then." Esdeath said, crossing her arms behind her back. "This problem may extend even deeper then we think. Now I must be off, I need to speak with Ren."

The _**Mastema**_ user had quirked an eyebrow. "Ren? Forgive me for asking, general… but what do you need him for? Lately, your attention has all been focused on Marina and finding out more about her teigu."

"Yes, and I have already accomplished that goal. We now all know that Marina's teigu is an interesting one, one created by the First Emperor in secret for his wife that is apparently responsible for the girl's notoriety around the capital. However, I still seek to know more about the ring on Ren's finger. I've been keeping a close eye on it ever since the Jaegers were formed, and it's time I learn more of what exactly is it." Esdeath smirked and planted her hands on her hips.

"How exactly are you planning to learn more of Ren's ring, General? I must admit, even I am curious of it because there is no information about it in books."

"We're going to go on patrol." Esdeath answered simply, walking past Run.

* * *

 **(That Night; Mountains to the North of the Capital)**

"And that's how I ended up joining Night Raid." Akame finished, keeping her hold on _**Murasame's**_ hilt tight as she treaded carefully through the rocky terrain, keeping herself close to Tatsumi's side.

"Wow… that's one hell of a messed-up story…" Tatsumi muttered, sending his lover a look of concern. "Are you sure you're fine with sharing something as personal as that?"

"If it's you, I don't mind at all. I just wanted you to hear me out so I could tell my story, and you did. For that, I want to thank you, Tatsumi." Akame simply said, smiling at him.

"I have no problem with you telling me anything about yourself, Akame… but does it still bother you until now? I don't want you getting hurt by recounting what happened with you in the past."

Akame shook her head. "It's in the past, and I've moved on from it, Tatsumi. Why do you think I told you about it in the first place? I wanted to let those pent-up feelings inside me out… for it feels like they're haunting me."

Unfortunately for her, she accidentally let the truth slip from her tongue.

He sent her a knowing look. "There, you see? Something's wrong…" he said with a light groan.

She sighed; Akame shouldn't have doubted his keen hearing, and thus she began to speak with a saddened tone. "All right, I admit… it's still there inside me… inside my mind. The people I've killed… my first team… my friends… my parents… Kurome… everything I've been through, the memories come back to me time and time again. Not as good ones, but… otherwise. It's why I've experienced nightmares a few months ago…"

"I understand… I may know much about your past, Akame…" he smiled and kissed her cheek. "But you can always tell me about these kinds of things. I'm always willing to listen to you and hear you out." He was about to continue walking, when he noticed that Akame was no longer following him.

He turned around and noticed Akame frozen in place, her hair shadowing over her eyes as she clenched her fists tightly. Tatsumi gulped and slowly walked back towards her with a concerned look.

"Um, is something wrong, Akame?" he asked, about to place his hand on her shoulder but he suddenly stopped when the raven-haired assassin raised her head up to look at him, her eyes filled with tears.

Tatsumi couldn't say anything else as he got tackled to the ground by Akame, as the girl buried her face into his chest and hugged him tightly. "They're still here…" she muttered.

"What is?" he replied, frowning as he stroked a few strands of her hair gently.

"The nightmares that I used to have… I still have them sometimes…" She raised her head to look straight into his eyes, tears flowing down her face. "It makes me wonder what would have happened if the Boss never crossed paths with me… I would still be killing innocent people and… and I'd never be cleansed for every bad thing I've done."

"Akame, don't say that… you know —" he tried to reason out but quickly stopped himself, knowing that every word she spoke was true.

"Despite everything I've done for the Revolutionary Army, I failed…" she sniffled, burying her face into his shirt again. "I failed to save my sister, I failed to save my friends… and I even failed to save myself. If anyone has the most reason to be killed, it's —" before she could even continue, Tatsumi sat up and slammed his lips into hers, slowly washing away her pain and sorrow with his love.

Akame was too weak to even do anything as her arms were powerless on either side of her body, while Tatsumi gently held her back with one hand as he showed her how much he cared for her with a simple kiss. She only closed her eyes as she accepted his action wholeheartedly.

A few moments later, he pulled back with a straight face, leaving Akame breathless as she slowly opened her eyes.

Tatsumi gripped her shoulders tightly, gritting his teeth. "Don't finish that sentence… don't you dare finish it, Akame. I promised you, remember? We'll survive this, I swear it. I'll make it happen… I'll give us a happy ending and we'll come out of this alive. We'll live a new life in the capital and you won't feel this way again!"

"Tatsumi…" was all that she could breathe out before he dove in to steal another kiss from her. This time, she was able to answer back by wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing back, pouring all of her love into their liplock.

He finally pulled back after about a minute of continuous lip contact between them, with Tatsumi tucking some of her hair behind her ear. "Are you okay now, Akame?" he asked curiously. He needed to be sure that she was really fine, but he was ready to comfort her once again should the situation comes that she needs him.

"Tatsumi…" her voice sounded like a low purr, as she began to loosen her red tie.

Except… maybe that.

"What? A-Akame?!" he exclaimed out of alarm, taken aback with her sudden move of intimacy.

"Tatsumi please, I feel… emotionally unstable… these nightmares and horrible memories feel like they're ripping my heart and mind apart… and… I-I… I want… I want you to… be with me!" she said, gripping his shoulders in return. "Please… like what happened that night with Leone… I want you… to make me forget about all of it! Please make me feel better!" Her sudden statement of wanting for affection and treatment took him by surprise, that it almost caused him to faint.

He managed to regain his composure. "Akame, I understand how you feel, what you're thinking, and what's happening… but you're sad and confused, and I don't want to take —"

"Tatsumi, please! I'm begging you!" she pleaded, pounding on his chest weakly to show how desperate she was. "You're the only one who can help me with this… I don't know what to do to make this go away…"

"Akame, I…" he struggled to say. Of course, before being an assassin, Tatsumi was a teenager and he had raging hormones that could take over at any second, and this was a perfect example of that situation.

"Tatsumi… you can make me feel better… I know you can…" she gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"R-Really?"

Akame nodded.

"O-Okay then…" he replied, giving in to his inner emotions.

 _ **[*Super Short Lemon Alert*]**_

Tatsumi wrapped his arms around Akame's waist and leaned in for another kiss, which the girl accepted happily as she began to kiss back, throwing her arms around her lover's neck. "I love you so much, Tatsumi…" she breathed out into his mouth.

"I love you too, Akame." he said, lifting her up by her legs as he stood upright, walking towards a tree as he made her lean against it. Akame wrapped her strong legs around his waist as she kissed him deeper, swirling her tongue inside his mouth.

Tatsumi quickly undone a few buttons on her dress, reaching inside as he started to fondle Akame's breasts gently, turning her on even more.

"Oh no… s-someone might… see us…" she said weakly out of slight worry, trying her best to suppress her moans.

"They won't… I'll make sure of it." His left hand left her breast as it travelled down towards her skirt, flipping it up to grasp her panty-clad ass, almost making Akame scream into his mouth. The two assassins separated for a few moments, looking into each other's eyes before slamming their lips onto one another again. Tatsumi's right hand gently squeezed her breast as her thumb grazed her nipple.

"A-Ahh, Tatsumi! Right there~!" She couldn't stop her shout of pleasure that time, feeling her whole body becoming more sensitive than usual. Akame tilted her head to the side as she felt Tatsumi kiss her neck, raising her arms above her head as she closed her eyes tightly to try and prevent herself from screaming any further.

"You sound so cute like that, Akame…" he said, placing soft but quick kisses on her neck, careful enough not to leave any hickeys as he licked his way down to her armpits. Akame clamped her hand over her mouth as she moaned loudly at the feeling of Tatsumi's tongue on her armpits, feeling herself getting wetter by the moment.

"Tatsumi~" she mewled out in pleasure, losing herself to her lust for the young man in front of her.

"I'm sorry." Unable to help himself, he undone a few more buttons on her mini dress and revealed her breasts, a furious blush appearing on Akame's face.

"AHH! I-It's okay…" she moaned loudly when Tatsumi had his mouth on her firm and soft mounds, licking and sucking on her skin gently so that he wouldn't be leaving any marks. Both him and Akame just needed a good release and that was it. They'll continue with the mission afterwards.

"Akame, I'm gonna take it a bit further." he said quickly, clasping his mouth over her nipple and began to suck and play with it just like what he did with her breasts. He swirled his tongue over her areola and Akame snapped her eyes open, nearly screaming out what she felt but Tatsumi slapped his hand over her mouth to muffle her voice.

"Mmpphh…" she said into his hand, relaxing after he was finished with pleasuring both her nipples. The only thing that was on Tatsumi's mind right now was leading his girlfriend and himself to an orgasm, and their mission or anything else didn't matter at that moment.

The brunette decided to quickly get this over with, pulling down his pants and boxers while Akame pushed her wet panties to the side, her pussy dripping with her own juices.

Tatsumi kissed her as he thrusted his entire erection into Akame, causing them to scream loudly into each other's mouths. Speeding up with every movement he did, the red-eyed assassin grabbed fistfuls of his brown hair, enjoying herself in bliss and pure ecstasy.

"It feels… amazing, Tatsumi~" Akame breathed out as she started to meet her lover's thrusts with her own.

"Yeah… God, you're so hot inside Akame…" he answered back, reaching inside her skirt to grab her panties, pulling them down slightly as he grabbed her bare ass, eliciting another scream of delight from the girl as she raked her nails all over his back in response.

"Tatsumi, more! Ahh, do it harder~! I… I feel like I'm cumming already~!" she pursed her lips together as she bit into Tatsumi's shoulder to suppress any further sound she could make.

"Goddamn, why does it feel so good?! I'm gonna cum already!" he said, grabbing onto Akame's hips tightly as he kissed and sucked on her neck, pumping his cock madly into her as he was desperate for his climax.

"Inside, Tatsumi! Cum inside me~! I'm gonna cum as well! It's just too good~!" she pleaded as she threw her head back, her back arching against the tree as she finally hit her orgasm.

With one more thrust, Tatsumi buried his face into Akame's chest to muffle his scream as he climaxed, shooting his cum inside of her pussy while Akame bit into his shoulder again to prevent herself from screaming.

"T-Tatsumi…" she purred out, feeling his hot sperm inside her vaginal walls mixing with her juices. Their combined fluids slowly dripped out of her womanhood and into the ground as the two assassins panted in the afterglow of their orgasm.

 _ **[*Super Short Lemon End*]**_

"Yeah?" he asked, moving away from her chest before looking up at Akame with sweat all over his face.

"I… I feel better now… thank you…" she muttered, pulling him in for one final kiss.

"I'm glad you are… I love you and… I'll always be here for you, whenever you need me." Tatsumi answered short and simple, before he accepted the kiss happily, pulling his erection out of her.

"I love you too, Tatsumi." Akame smiled and hugged him tight, feeling tears of joy stinging her eyes but she managed to keep herself from crying. "Don't leave me alone… ever." Tatsumi smiled back and returned the hug as they enjoyed this particular moment between them for a few more moments.

"I promise."

* * *

After Akame and Tatsumi were done spending their little "alone time" together, the two assassins continued on their way, searching for the humanoid danger beasts around the mountain. However, even with the burst of energy and vigor that they had after having sex, they appeared to have little luck because they still haven't seen or encountered one until now.

"Strange…" Akame muttered, stroking her chin as she let go of _**Murasame**_ for the first time in many minutes. "We still haven't seen any danger beasts around this area. It's been over two hours since we started searching."

"Yeah, it's weird. It's impossible for them to get wiped out easily in a place like this, so they must be hiding somewhere where they could ambush travellers or soldiers without being seen." Tatsumi replied, leaning against a tree so he could think properly.

"That's true… considering they are smarter than normal danger beasts, they could possibly know how to hide and ambush a person." Akame nodded in agreement.

"Okay, that does it." Tatsumi sighed, unsheathing _**Starfall**_. "The coast looks clear down here, so I'm gonna do a quick scan of the summit from above."

"I'll continue searching through the area here. If anything happens in the summit, come find me down here. We'll take on it together." Akame said, kissing him on the cheek for a quick second.

"Got it. I'll be right back!" he exclaimed as he took off from the ground and into the air.

 **(Five Minutes Later; Mountain's Summit)**

"Hmm, there's nothing here either…" Tatsumi muttered, scanning the entire summit of the mountain. "Not a sign of life in this ghost town." Tatsumi then stepped down from the large rock he was standing on, looking down on the ground.

"Maybe they're all asleep… those beasts need their rest after a whole day of killing people and raiding villages…" Tatsumi stared up at the full moon overhead as he sighed. "I wonder how everyone else is doing… I hope they're all safe and sound." As Tatsumi stared up at bright moon, he failed to notice the large danger beast silently soaring through the night sky, as well as the woman riding on top of it.

"I know I'm supposed to be out patrolling for those danger beasts…" Esdeath said, staring at the moon before her. "But the moonlight is so lovely, and I thought it'd be nice to take the scenic route… but even I have to admit that it's not like me to do something like this…"

Closing her eyes, an image of Tatsumi's smiling face appeared in Esdeath's mind. _"It's all your fault… I'm acting so weird because of you, Tatsumi."_ As she opened her blue orbs, Esdeath glanced down and something happened to catch her attention. _"A silhouette… is it a danger beast or something more interesting?"_ A smirk spread across Esdeath's face as she unsheathed her sword.

"Heh, in that case… he's quite unlucky." Without another word, Esdeath dove off the Danger beast she was riding on and plummeted towards the silhouette. "He caught me while I'm in a bad mood."

* * *

"Nothing here…" Akame muttered, keeping her eye keen for any possible danger beasts as she sat on a tree branch. "Tatsumi wasn't kidding when he said that the coast was clear down here…" The red-eyed assassin jumped off the branch and landed on the ground as she looked at the mountain summit, highlighted by the moonlight.

"I guess I should go follow him… I have nothing else to do down here, anyway." Akame stared at the top of the mountain as she began to make her way to the summit. "If Tatsumi is coming from above, I'm sure he'll be able to see me from down here and if he doesn't, I'll call out to him." Releasing a light sigh, Akame loosened her grip on _**Murasame**_. "I hope he's safe, though… I know I shouldn't be worrying about him right now, but with Esdeath and the Jaegers moving against the danger beasts on their own, Tatsumi might get captured by that man-stealer again."

And then all of a sudden, her eyes snapped open and she began to walk faster. It wasn't because of Esdeath and her obsession with Tatsumi, no… it was something else.

" _I feel it… someone else is around here… I need to move fast and stay out of sight."_ Akame thought to herself as her grip on _**Murasame**_ returned, ready to be unleashed when she sees a threat.

Ren was walking through the steep edges of the mountains, being careful not to make a wrong step so he wouldn't fall off. "Okay, the General told me to patrol from below while she watches from above… seems easy enough…" he said, wiping the sweat off his forehead as he took off his armor pieces one-by-one.

" _Damn it, this uniform is way too heavy for me… I've had it with this."_ Ren thought to himself with a sweat-drop as he discarded the last of his armor, leaving him in a white shirt and black pants. " _Screw it, I'm going to just use my normal clothes since I'm a Jaeger as well. I don't care what other soldiers would think."_

He pulled himself back up to his feet and continued on, summoning a small flame on his hand. "I wonder if the General has found something yet? I have no idea but if that happens…" He threw the flame forward, as if he was just throwing a rock. "I have to make sure this area is secure, and if I see a Danger beast… I'll make sure that they burn to —!" he was cut off from his words when he saw that a silhouette in the distance had dodged his fireball.

" _Wait, there's somebody else around here? It might be one of those danger beasts…"_ he told himself, rubbing his eyes for a few seconds to see if he was dreaming or not. " _I need to kill it."_ Summoning another fireball in his hand, he started to walk towards the silhouette.

* * *

 _"Something's coming in from behind me… I don't know who it is, but I'm gonna give this newcomer a piece of my mind…"_ Tatsumi said to himself, mere seconds before something crashed into the ground behind him. The young assassin quickly pulled out his pistol and aimed it at the cloud of dust behind him.

"Who's there?!" he exclaimed, ready to pull the trigger on whoever it was as he covered his face with his arm to prevent any dust from getting to his eyes. As the dust began to settle, Tatsumi began to make out a human-like figure standing in front of him.

"You will face me…" When the debris fully dissipated into the air, Tatsumi's eyes widened when he saw that it was actually Esdeath, pointing her sword at him. "And I'll test out some new ways to torture on —" Esdeath stopped dead in her tracks when she realized that it just who was the person in front of her. A fierce blush quickly spread across Esdeath's face, once again coming face-to-face with the man she loved. "H-Huh? Tatsumi?"

* * *

Akame managed to dodge the fireball that was suddenly shot towards her in the nick of time, turning her attention in the direction of the projectile that was sent towards her. Unsheathing _**Murasame**_ , she began to rush forward and kill whoever it was that tried to attack her.

" _I knew it… there's somebody else here. That was a small fireball, so who could have fired it?"_ Turning around a corner, Akame prepared for an impending battle when she saw somebody in white approaching. " _Be it a Jaeger, a soldier, or a Danger Beast, I will eliminate them."_

"Whoever you are, I will burn you to ashes!" Akame stopped in her tracks when she saw a red-haired man come across her a few meters away, holding up _**Murasame**_ in a battle stance as she took a deep breath and prepared to fight.

Ren approached the silhouette a bit more, wanting to get a closer look. "I fight for a cause and I —" he suddenly cut himself off mid-sentence when he noticed who was standing in front of him. Ren's eyes widened as the memories of their first meeting flooded his mind, easily recognizing this particular person.

Her long, raven hair…

Her slender figure…

Her flawless skin…

Her beautiful face…

Her striking, crimson eyes…

The red-haired teen had dropped the spear he was holding to the ground as his heart pounded madly in his chest, as if it was being ripped apart. Ren blushed furiously as he practically swallowed his own words out of anticipation. He didn't know what to say. His ring had begun to glow brightly as Akame slightly lowered her teigu in confusion.

"It's… you… I found you.."

* * *

 _ **Two reunions… I hope the title makes sense now! Hahaha!**_

 _ **Tatsumi stripping in front of everyone and having pants underneath. Take that, canon! Tatsumi is badass here! He just shut Chelsea up again haha**_

 _ **I hope you enjoyed the small TaKame lemon I did! I made it as short as I possibly could :p**_

 _ **The reunions continue next chapter, and what happens from there? Ren has finally found Akame again and Esdeath reunited with Tatsumi. Oh, I'm excited.**_

 _ **Harem (Final): Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review. PLEASE REVIEW.**_

 _ **If you want to catch up with me and your other favorite writers, join our Discord server:**_

[discord . gg / uDxVym8]

 _ **To those who want to join our Akame ga kill server…**_

[discord. gg / VX6sVkq]

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	31. Kill the Rendezvous

_**Note: Vote in the poll, dudes. Only up till February 2.**_

"Normal Talking"

" _Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I am don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters… I also don't own the song here…**_

* * *

 _ **-Start song (Fairy Tail OP 16 - Strike Back) -**_

 **Wooooaaahhh… wooaah… woooaaahh… woaaaoohh…**

 _-Tatsumi is standing on top of a hilltop as the sun starts to rise before it cuts to his face, with him closing his eyes_

 **(Strike Back!)**

 _-Tatsumi snaps his eyes open and slashes across the screen, and the Akame ga Kill! logo shows during the instrumental_

 **Kidō sura kae rarenai kurai no kakuritsuda to shite mo**

 _-The Emperor and Honest are standing on the palace's balcony, watching at the war between the Revolutionary Army and the Empire_

 **ippāsento demo areba mo chiron teikō desho?**

 _-The members of Night Raid and the Jaegers start walking towards each other, with Najenda and Esdeath leading their respective groups_

 **Shosen, 'unmei' to nagetsuke raretatte, No I Won't!**

 _-In the Jaegers' Meeting Room, Marina gets introduced to the other Jaegers and she smiles before she found herself staring at Ren_

 **Hikkurikaeshite, Because**

 _-Chelsea looks back behind her with a horrified look on her face as blood covers the screen_

 **datte kimi to mirai wo miretara saikō janai?**

 _-An lifeless arm covered in blood falls to the ground in a puddle of blood and images of Akame, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Spear, Sayo, and Chelsea appear one-by-one before a black boot stomps on the puddle of blood_

 **Bring it on! cuz I'm just gonna grow up in the battle HEY!**

 _-A young Tatsumi and Esdeath are shown fighting each other in the tournament at the Northern Region_

 **Buchi nuku donten! Still burning my fire**

 _-Back in the battlefield, Run flies through the sky and kills several soldiers from above_

 **ten wo kirisaku raimei**

 _-Ren and Bols work together with their flames to burn down and weaken the attacking army_

 **I gotta kakikesu**

 _-Wave fights and quickly wins against several rebels with his Grand Chariot_

 **Nightmare tada mirai ga mitakute!**

 _-Kurome unsheathes Yatsufusa and cuts down all the soldiers in her way while Marina, in her combat outfit, sliced her way through everyone with her claws as she slashes the screen_

 **Kako,**

 _-Tatsumi shows up with a determined expression_

 **mirai,**

 _-Akame is seen with a very sad look on her face_

 **soshite iki teru ima,**

 _-Kurome cries into Wave's clothes as she hugged him_

 **I ain't scared of my past and now for taku sa reta asu**

 _-All of the members of Night Raid charge on into battle, pulling out their respective teigus_

 **Screaming out for my pride!**

 _-Esdeath flashes a sadistic grin_

 **Namida mitakunai kara, sakebi tsuzukeru yo! Zutto…**

 _-Tatsumi wipes the tears from his eyes as he flew down the hilltop and zoomed towards Esdeath despite the icicles that she sent to attack him_

 **(I'm never falling down! Oi kaze wo se ni fukitobasu Destiny!)**

 _-Tatsumi and Esdeath fight each other at a very fast pace that no one could catch up with their movements_

 **Kono senaka ni aru,**

 _-Akame faces off with Kurome on opposite sides of the battlefield with tears in her eyes_

 **egao mamoritai kara!**

 _-The rest of Night Raid assemble in the battlefield and prepare to fight back_

 **Zutto… (I gotta blast off your pain for you and me!)**

 _-Ren is sitting in his room, alone, as he flashed a dark look while imagining how would it be like when he has Akame to himself_

 **(Kanashimi nante Rest in peace!)**

 _-Marina hugs Ren from behind and he is shocked, cutting off his dark thoughts_

 **Nando demo…**

 _-Tatsumi charges towards Esdeath one last time as it cuts to the sky, a shooting star seen visible as it flew through the air_

 _ **-End of song-**_

* * *

 _"Great…"_ Tatsumi thought, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. _"It's too soon for us to meet each other again, damn it!"_ Closing his eyes, Tatsumi managed to stay calm and recompose himself. _"Oh well, I can't do anything about this… I can't fly away nor can I run towards Akame… I'll have to face this head-on!"_

"Oh my… what do I do? I'm not… ready for this…" Esdeath muttered to herself, resting her head on her hand as the blush on her face darkened. "I knew deep in my heart that we would meet again… but I never guess it would be this soon… it must mean that our love is truly meant to be… this feels like some kind of dream that I never want to wake up from…" As Esdeath continued to murmur to herself, Tatsumi then noticed several danger beasts crawling out of the shadows behind her.

" _Goddammit, they decide to show up just now?!"_ Tatsumi thought in annoyance, quickly reaching for his pistol in its holster. _"I got to stop them before they hurt —"_ However, just as Tatsumi pulled out his weapon, he felt a small spray of warm liquid splatter on his face and chest. Looking down, he recognized just what had got to him and his clothes.

 _"W-What the…"_ Tatsumi quickly looked up, and his mouth hung open at the carnage that was in front of him. Standing in the middle of a pile of mutilated danger beasts was Esdeath herself, her rapier coated in blood. Adjusting her cap, Esdeath flicked her blade and splashed the ground before her with danger beast blood _. "H-Holy shit… I barely saw how… how she killed them… s-she… she really has changed… she's grown… stronger than before…"_

Witnessing such an overwhelming display of power, Tatsumi looked at Esdeath and narrowed his eyes as he took note of her strength first-hand. " _So this is the basis of her strength? Unbelievable… she may be even stronger than me…"_ he thought to himself before hearing a weak snarl, causing him to glance down as he saw that one of the butchered danger beasts was still clinging on to some life. The monster slowly crawled towards Esdeath in a useless attempt to attack her.

"Stay out of this!" Esdeath growled as she slammed the tip of her boot's heel into the danger beast's head, coating her white boot in a spray of crimson. Tatsumi couldn't help but wince as he heard the monster whine in pain. Not even bothering to kill the dying beast, Esdeath turned to her love with a bright smile on her face. "Now that I made sure I'm not dreaming… I've eagerly been looking forward to the day we'd be reunited once again, Tatsumi… or should I say… Razior."

"Well, I wasn't looking forward to this… but I did make out that we'll someday meet again, Little Miss Perfect." Tatsumi shrugged, as he stared straight into Esdeath's blue orbs. "But, before we continue any further… can you please put that thing out of its misery? It's distracting me."

 **(Same Time; With Akame)**

" _An Imperial guard? Is he alone or is he part of a nearby squad?"_ Akame thought, examining the red-haired man in front of her as she lowered _**Murasame**_ momentarily. " _Are they here to hunt for those danger beasts as well?"_

"H-Hey, miss!" Ren exclaimed, waving his arm as he audibly gulped in nervousness. "R-Remember me? We met back then! While you were running… I… I saw you… I'm that guy you met! Do you remember…"

Unfortunately for Ren, as he continued to sputter out various hints that the two of them had met before, Akame's attention was directed towards something else, looking down at the base of the mountain with a conflicted expression.

 _"Tatsumi, where are you?"_ Akame said to herself with a small pout, sheathing _**Murasame**_ since she could tell that there was no danger here. As long as the man across her wouldn't do anything, she won't do anything either. _"He said he'd be back quickly."_ Releasing a light sigh of worry, Akame stared up at the night sky. _"I hope that nothing —"_ she suddenly stopped mid-sentence when she saw something moving in the distance from the base of the mountain to the top at a very fast speed, causing her eyes to widen slightly.

 _"What is that? Someone's coming up from the base of the mountain… to the top?!"_ Akame turned her head to look at Ren, who was still blabbering about who-knows-what nonsense across her. " _And it's not an Imperial guard like this man… it's only one person… and they're moving so fast at a speed nearly reaching my own… it must be a Jaeger… probably… Kurome!"_

In a snap decision out of her own instincts, Akame continued onward, jumping over Ren before landing back on the ground, making her way towards the summit of the mountain herself. _"That person… was able to cover a great distance up the mountain in minutes… I'm not sure if it really is Kurome, and I'm not ready to face her yet but… with Tatsumi still missing until now… something definitely isn't right here…"_

Ren had snapped out of his own personal trance when Akame had rushed towards him; thinking she was about to give him a hug, the red-haired Jaeger blushed furiously as he closed his eyes, spreading his arms wide and preparing for her to jump into his arms. " _Oh boy, I am not prepared for this kind of intimacy… but I won't let this pass by!"_ he thought to himself, blushing.

However, his eyes snapped open when the girl suddenly jumped over him and landed on the ground behind him. Ren turned around almost immediately and witnessed her running away from him, slowly out of sight. He then felt something pounding in his chest as he fell down to one knee.

" _What?!"_

His ring started to glow brightly once again.

" **Make it yours."**

Without even stopping to think, Ren sprang up to his feet and rushed off, following Akame. "Wait, miss! Slow down!" he exclaimed, waving his arm out to try and get her attention. "Hey, please! I just want to ask you something, quick! It won't be long, I promise!"

" _I'll have to lose him…"_ Akame thought, noticing Ren's presence behind her. Trying to think of a plan while she was on the run, she turned her attention to the top of the mountain. _"Please be safe, Tatsumi… something dangerous might be coming your way."_

 **(Back With Tatsumi and Esdeath)**

After reuniting with Esdeath… it didn't even take Tatsumi more than a few seconds before he was captured once again by the empire's strongest and most feared general.

" _Give me a break…"_ he groaned, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"Mmmm…" Esdeath hummed, hugging Tatsumi's head against her breasts and burying her face into his hair. Taking in one deep breath, she released it all in a big contented sigh. "Yes… this is Tatsumi's scent without a doubt. You're definitely the real thing." Esdeath's smile widened as she hugged the young man even tighter. "You live up to your reputation, running away from me like that without noticing… but I was so lonely without you… don't do that again… I was really worried about you…"

 _"What the… she was worried about me?"_ Tatsumi thought in surprise, his eyes widening slightly. However, he quickly remembered the mission at hand as he shook his head to clear his mind. _"I can't let myself go and play with her charms… I need to get away from her and go back to Akame! But how?"_

Sighing deeply, Tatsumi then turned his head back to look at the bluenette. "If you don't mind me asking… why are you here, Esdeath? It seems sort of odd for you to be all the way out here in the mountains, when you can have your own soldiers to do the heavy work for you."

"The Jaegers and myself were tasked with exterminating the danger beasts that have been showing up at the capital lately. And I like to do my patrolling at night… it's quiet and relaxing out here." Esdeath replied with a smile, combing her fingers through Tatsumi's hair before she grabbed a fistful of it lightly. "Actually… I'm the one who should be asking you why you're up here, Tatsumi. There are no tournaments around here for you to compete in…" she asked in an icy tone.

 _"She's starting to get suspicious..."_ Tatsumi thought, narrowing his eyes slightly as he tried to pull himself away from Esdeath _. "And why is she thinking that I'm gonna enter one? Is it because of what happened 8 years ago?"_ However, the general had a firm grasp on Tatsumi and showed no intention of letting go. "U-Uh… could you please let me go?"

"No." Esdeath replied without a moment's hesitation as she rested her chin on top of Tatsumi's head, humming softly. "I won't let you out of my sight again."

 _"Damn this woman… she's too persistent! How hard has she fallen for me?!"_ Tatsumi thought, once again trying to wriggle free of Esdeath's grasp. After a few moments of struggling, he finally managed to worm out of her arms and took a few steps back, breathing deeply. "You wanted to know why I'm up here, right?" He walked towards the danger beast that Esdeath nearly killed earlier, before finishing it off by stomping on its neck hard enough to snap. "I'm just up here to train my abilities even further. I've heard rumors of really strong danger beasts in these mountains… so I decided to give it a look and that's how I ended up here."

"Hmmm, I see..." Esdeath muttered, staring at Tatsumi suspiciously for several moments, before she released a sigh of relief, a small smile spreading across her face. "Well, that's a weight off my shoulders. I'm glad I won't have to fight you… for now at least."

"What do you mean 'won't have to fight me for now'? Did I do something?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"I haven't forgotten, Tatsumi. Those words that you said to me that night… about why you dislike the Empire." The brunette's eyes had widened considerably upon realizing what Esdeath just said, as memories of that fateful night filled his mind, when him and the Empire's strongest had fully reunited after many years. "After you spoke those words, I've had a feeling that you were planning to join the Revolutionary Army, since all those who opposes the Empire fight for them."

" _How the hell?! I never mentioned anything about the Revolutionary Army to her!"_ he thought to himself in disbelief. He looked at her in shock, before he finally released a sigh of defeat and lowered his head. " _I guess that's what you can expect from someone who's widely known as the empire's most feared general…"_

Waving his hands in front of him, he shook his head. "Woah, woah, woah, you're going too far in making assumptions, Esdeath…" he said, waving her claim off. "I haven't joined the Revolutionary Army, and I haven't made contact with them in any way. So, I'm pretty much innocent in this ongoing war."

Esdeath smiled as she walked over to Tatsumi and placed a hand on his shoulder. "That makes me glad… this means I can —" she said happily, before being cut off from her words when Tatsumi brushed her hand off his shoulder and walked past her, overlooking the vast landscape in front of him.

"But now that you mentioned it, that doesn't sound like a bad idea…" Tatsumi smirked, turning back to look at Esdeath. "You've actually given me a good option on what I should do… you're right, I do hate the Empire but I never decided on whether I should fight against it or not… what if I decide to join them and fight against the Empire that _you_ serve?"

"If it comes to that, I'll have to eventually fight you… although I would try and convince you to join —" she tried to say, but Tatsumi had once again interrupted her when he chuckled slightly.

"You're welcome to try, but…" he turned back to look at Esdeath, before walking back towards her. "Like what I said, I'm not going to fall for it easily. You can torture me all you want, but my mouth is going to stay shut as it is."

Esdeath flashed a smirk of her own, before she shook her head in amusement. Tatsumi then felt the ground he was standing on freeze completely, turning into ice as the temperature around him began to decrease immensely. However, he managed to suppress his sense of danger and remain completely calm in his place, only limiting himself to take a deep breath.

"I'm… guessing this is your way of showing me that you're serious?" he asked, causing the bluenette to chuckle once again.

* * *

 **(Same Time; With Akame and Ren)**

"Miss! Please stop! I just want to know your name!" Ren pleaded, trying his best to keep up with Akame. The red-haired man had been chasing her for some time now, and he showed no signs of giving up anytime soon. There were many times when he was going to give up out of exhaustion, although he had used his own fire to propel himself further and continue.

" _This must be the Jaeger whose ring can control fire, per Lubbock's words."_ Akame thought to herself, taking a second to glance behind her, noticing the strange ring on the man's finger. " _What do I do? Every time I try to lose him, he manages to stay on track and keep his sights on me… and I need to stay focused on getting to Tatsumi at the summit…"_

"Miss! Wait up! I just want to talk, and no way am I getting denied! What's wrong with a simple talk!" Ren exclaimed once again, reaching out with his hand that he nearly grabbed her hair, but Akame had jumped away farther, keeping a considerable distance between them. "I'll catch up to you, miss! Just you wait!"

With his arms behind him, two big blasts of flames erupted from his hands, propelling him further towards Akame but the girl kept on jumping away to keep away from him. The two were nearing the summit with every second, but Akame felt like she wouldn't be able to get there in time.

" _I underestimated him… he can keep up with me in an unusual way, but it's not tiring him out at all… Tatsumi, I hope you're there…"_ she breathed deeply, putting on her stoic expression as she turned her attention to the mountaintop. " _Please be there… I don't know how long I can continue avoiding him… we need to get out of here and get back to the hideout…"_ she told herself, looking back at Ren.

* * *

 **(Same Time; With Tatsumi and Esdeath)**

"My dear Tatsumi, if you weren't the one whom I fight against when we were younger, I'd bring you in as of this moment so we could be together forever like I wanted…" she admitted, summoning an icicle to shatter the icy ground that surrounded Tatsumi, leaving him standing on a lone stump. "However, I won't bring myself to do that."

"Why's that?" he asked, frowning slightly in confusion, because this was too weird for his own good. If Esdeath wanted him, she could do it and he won't be able to fight back since he had to maintain his cover.

"Because like what I said before, you are the only man to have defeated me, regardless of what I am capable now." she smiled, the blush on her face darkening for a bit. "And I respect those who are strong and powerful… for that reason, I respect you Tatsumi."

"Just because I beat you when we were kids, you think I'm strong and powerful? Are you out of your mind?" he said in an incredulous tone, wondering how could she have gotten to that conclusion using something that happened in the past.

"Are you questioning my ideals, Tatsumi?" she asked in a cold tone, her eyes narrowing as she walked towards him menacingly.

"No, I'm not an idiot to do that in front of a general!" he exclaimed, shaking his head furiously to avoid getting into Esdeath's bad side. "I'm just curious, that's all! Like, how can you judge me just for something I did in the past alone?"

He had to gulp and silently hope to whatever deity out there to not let him be caught in conflict at the moment, because it looked like that Esdeath didn't even listen to his words and continued to walk towards him. However, just when he thought that she was going to attack him, Esdeath had wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in a loving hug.

"What more do you need as proof of my words, Tatsumi? You have already proven yourself, even if you're not aware of it. Remember who won the tournament to determine who will my lover be?" she asked, smiling at the memory of that particular day.

His eyes widened at her words, realizing the truth behind it.

"I remember it… the way how you fought your opponents during your matches… how you proved them weak with your strength and power… hiw you stood tall in the end…" she reminisced, letting go of him and resting her hands on his shoulders. "I knew I've seen that style of combat from somewhere, but I never thought it would be you… the same Razior who I've been searching for years. The man who I wanted to face again… the only man to have beaten me in my lifetime… is the same man who is the object of my feelings right now."

" _Woah… I-I'm… I can't believe it… she really… she really does respect —"_ he thought with a furious blush on his face, before shaking his head for a few moments. " _No, pull yourself together! This might be a trick to catch you off guard!"_

"Respect is given to those who deserve it… and you deserve it, Tatsumi… of all people." She then moved away from him, before staring at the landscape to her side, breathing deeply. "Now, do you understand why I respect you?"

"Y-Yeah…" he answered, nodding slowly. "But still… for a general to say that to someone like me… especially the _strongest_ one… it just feels out of place, for some reason."

He looked down on the ground, too overwhelmed with her words of praise towards him before his chin was lifted up slightly, and he found himself staring into Esdeath's beautiful blue eyes. Without another word, she leaned in to kiss Tatsumi.

Tatsumi's eyes widened as he felt Esdeath's lips on his, feeling her sweet but intoxicating taste on his tongue as dozens of thoughts ran through his mind. This was only the second time that Esdeath kissed him and yet, he couldn't help but think that they might have shared many kisses during the night when he was in her room and captured by the Jaegers.

Like last time, he tried to push Esdeath away and get his mind back on track, but he couldn't and Tatsumi slowly found himself getting drawn into the kiss, losing himself to the pleasure in the liplock. In an act of self-betrayal and somehow enjoyment, he firmly grabbed Esdeath by her waist and swirled his tongue into her mouth, slowly taking over what seemed to be, a one-sided kiss.

What stupid hormones for making him to like this.

However, Esdeath had prepared for his action as she pulled on Tatsumi's hair and kissed him back ferociously, and the two were now fighting for control. Of course, under the cold, militaristic exterior she exhibits, Esdeath was a beautiful woman who could make any man fall for her, including him even if he didn't want to admit it. Tatsumi further lost it as his hands were about to reach for her butt, about to give in to his instincts. His senses were about to go blank when he felt Esdeath's other hand sneak inside his shirt, touching his toned and well-built torso, along with his abdomen.

But all of a sudden, Esdeath had pulled away with a smile, causing Tatsumi's hands to stop and his eyes to snap open, staring into her eyes with a confused look. Why did she have to break it off right when he was just enjoying what was happening?

Wait, that didn't sound right…

Esdeath knew that Tatsumi had some hidden potential the moment she laid eyes on him at the capital, and it was one of the many things that drew her to him. But, Esdeath had to admit that she was quite shocked at how much stronger Tatsumi appeared to be after only a few short months with what he said earlier. Yes, she knew that the danger beasts in these areas were incredibly tough and strong, so if Tatsumi was here, then her hunch was correct. Not to mention the fact that she knew how he fought and how strong he already was when they clashed in that tournament years ago.

Feeling his own body with her fingers, her touch had managed to send chills to his spine. "Your body has changed considerably since the last time I saw you…" With a sweet smile, Esdeath pinched Tatsumi's cheek slightly. "From what I felt and from what I see, you have worked very hard in such a short time… and you still have so much potential to be better in the future."

"T-Thanks… I guess…" Tatsumi mumbled, looking to the side to hide his embarrassed look. _"Damn it! I'm losing it again! I must not think like this! Don't let her get to you! I have to take control of —"_ he tried to think to himself, before being cut off from his thoughts by Esdeath.

"We've killed almost all of the danger beasts… they may have been an annoying bunch, but…" she said as she cupped Tatsumi's cheeks and pressed her forehead against his; her voice was also sweet and loving, as his hands still remained on her hips until now. "Thanks to them, I was able to see you again. This must be what they call, fate… wouldn't you agree, Tatsumi?"

 _"You gotta be kidding me! She's totally not giving me any chances! I'm never gonna get a chance to get out of here!"_ Tatsumi thought, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists in frustration. _"At this rate, she'll capture me again and there's no way Esdeath's gonna let me out of her sight again! I need something to distract her so I can fly away… but what do I do?!"_ Tatsumi frowned as he tried to think of a solution, only to stop when he felt another person's presence where they were, causing him to turn his head into different directions to keep watch. " _Wait a second… we're not alone… somebody else is here…"_

 _"Tatsumi is so adorable when he's like this… I never would have imagined —"_ Esdeath thought as she smiled, before she sensed someone watching them from the shadows. Sighing in irritation, Esdeath gently pushed Tatsumi away and unsheathed her sword.

"This mountain is overflowing with many nuisances, including you. Interrupting my time with my love, aren't you?" Esdeath then pointed her blade at a large rock just in front of her and Tatsumi, scowling in annoyance. "I know that you're hiding there. Come out this instant, or I'll attack first and ask the questions later… if you are still alive at that point."

 _"I know I should make my move and escape now while Esdeath is distracted, but… something tells me that I shouldn't and just stay here for now. I have a feeling that things are turning out worse if I leave…"_ Tatsumi thought, glancing at Esdeath, before turning his attention back to the mystery eavesdropper who began to make his presence known.

"Bah! I thought I did an excellent job in masking my presence, but… well done, I guess." A hooded figure said, as he emerged from behind the rock. "It's no surprise that they call you the Empire's strongest… and that kid also seemed to notice me… he must be pretty powerful as well."

 _"Tatsumi sensed this guy too?"_ Esdeath thought, a smirk beginning to show on her face. " _I've originally thought that he only excels in combat and survival but… I wasn't aware that his senses are also enhanced… looks like he will keep on surprising and impress me at the same time."_

"Still, I never imagined that I'd run into you, out of all people, here in this place…" The hooded figure said as he raised his head, revealing a dark-skinned man with a large, noticeable x-shaped scar across his face. "I suppose this will bring an end to my playtime with my toys."

 _"This dude looks dangerous…"_ Tatsumi thought, narrowing his eyes as he grabbed his pistol's handle. _"I better be prepared for anything… if I use_ _**Starfall**_ _now, I'll blow up my cover… even if I do manage to escape."_

"You seem to be quite knowledgeable… and that could be troublesome." Esdeath said, her eyes narrowing dangerously at the mysterious man. "Allow me to personally escort you to my torture room."

"That's a tempting offer, but… I think I'll pass." The mystery man said, reaching into his cloak's sleeve. "But… since we're both here… I think I'll have you take care of a rather big thorn in my side. Just a favor, alright?"

 _"This isn't gonna be good!"_ Tatsumi thought, watching the man pull out a strange device. The young assassin took a deep breath, time seemingly slowing down around him as he waited for the perfect time to strike.

" _ **Dimensional Formation: Shambhala**_ —"

 _"You're dead, bastard!"_ Tatsumi thought, seeing the perfect opportunity to attack with the mysterious man's guard down momentarily. Quickly drawing out his pistol, Tatsumi immediately cocked it just as Esdeath and the man noticed his quick action.

However, before anything else could happen between the three of them, they had sensed the presence of two other individuals heading their way, and they were approaching fast. It was only after one of those two people spoke up, that got Esdeath's attention.

"-ERAL! GENERAL! GENERAL, CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" screamed the person aloud as the bluenette beside Tatsumi had turned her head to look at where the voice came from.

"Ren?" Esdeath said, noticing her subordinate chasing down a raven-haired girl as the two were about to reach them. "What is the meaning of this?" she asked with narrowed eyes.

"Please stop her before she gets away!" Ren pointed to the girl running ahead of him, who looked like she was trying to use every trick in her book to escape. Unfortunately, at the mention of one of the people he got introduced to in the Jaegers, Tatsumi also turned his head to them, specifically locking eyes with his companion for this particular mission.

" _Akame?!"_ Tatsumi thought to himself, before he quickly noticed that she was being followed by Ren, the Jaeger who also happened to be a part of the Imperial guard. Actually, from the looks of it, she wasn't being followed.

She was being chased.

" _This isn't good! We've been caught without me even getting to do something about it… and we have no way out of here! What do I do?! Esdeath and Ren… they're both Jaegers and they probably recognize Akame… the other guy doesn't look like he's siding with anybody… damn it, how do we get out of here?!"_ he continued in his thoughts, lowering his pistol as he turned his attention solely to Akame.

" _Oh, what's this? It looks like I have more toys to play with now… and one of them just happens to be a member of that assassin group Night Raid…"_ the mystery man thought, his grin becoming wider in excitement.

" _I've reached Tatsumi, but it turns out Esdeath and… one of her subordinates are trying to prevent us from escaping."_ Akame thought through narrowed eyes, glancing quickly towards the empire's most feared general and the red-haired man behind her, before turning her full attention back towards her boyfriend. " _I just need to get Tatsumi and we can escape together… he could also fly us away from here once we are out of their sights…"_

" _Raven hair… crimson eyes… a dress like that…"_ Esdeath thought as she quickly examined the girl that Ren was chasing after, looking at her face afterwards, immediately recognizing her with only one glance. " _There's no doubt about it… this girl is Akame of Night Raid."_

"A wanted criminal shows up in my hands… what an unusual day for me." Flashing a dangerous look, Esdeath froze the ground in front of Akame, causing her to be trapped within the ice and preventing her from moving any further.

"Akame!" Tatsumi exclaimed out of instinct, quickly earning hers and Esdeath's attention, with the latter frowning and quirking an eyebrow at him. He did manage to realize his mistake and cover his mouth with his hand to prevent himself from saying anything else. However, he appeared to be too late as both Esdeath and Akame were plainly staring at him because of what he just said. " _C-Crap, I messed up…"_

" _My, isn't this interesting? It's as if Tatsumi is concerned for her…"_ Esdeath thought, rubbing her chin as her attention was drawn back towards Tatsumi.

" _This is bad… our cover will be blown at this rate and we'll be captured by Esdeath!"_ Akame thought through gritted teeth before she felt somebody's hand on her shoulder. Looking back, she saw Ren behind her, grabbing Akame by her shoulder as he looked at Esdeath. Out of instinct, she had pulled out Murasame and prepared herself to kill Ren with one swipe.

That is, until, he began to speak. "General, I got her! Now we can —!" before he could continue further in his words, the mystery man had begun to speak, after what seemed like a long time of keeping quiet.

"Would you look at this? From two toys, now I have four? I must have hit the jackpot! _**Activate!**_ " The hooded man finally finished his exclamation, earning everyone's attention as they stared directly at his face just as he spotted Tatsumi once again aiming his pistol at him, ready to fire.

A split second before Tatsumi had pulled the trigger, two large, blinding circles of light appeared underneath him and Esdeath, and the same happened to Ren and Akame. Although he was a bit blinded with what happened, Tatsumi closed his eyes because his shot wasn't for nothing as it hit the mysterious newcomer straight into his left shoulder, causing him to stumble back as light fully enveloped the two pairs of people before him.

The sound of two people making confused but amazed noises could be heard afterwards, before being gone for good.

"Gah!" The hooded figure roared in pain, falling to one knee as he pressed a hand to his shoulder to suppress any bleeding. The mysterious man then growled in anger when he saw his own blood coating his hand. "That little shit!" Slowly getting back onto his feet, the man tossed away his tattered cloak and fully revealed himself to the world. Glaring at the spots where Esdeath, Akame, Ren and Tatsumi had all been standing on a moment before, the man tightly balled his fists in rage. "How dare that little bastard hurt me! I'll skin him alive the next time we —" Intense pain once again shot through his body, cutting him off from his words as the mystery man pressed his hand against his side. "Fuck… visiting my old man is gonna have to wait… I need to find a doctor fast."

* * *

 _ **Gotta love how Tatsumi is so calm around Esdeath, haha! Hope you like their moments in this chapter!**_

 _ **Ren is trying to win Akame over, like some of us like to do to their own crushes… I feel bad for her!**_

 _ **Harem (Final): Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review. PLEASE REVIEW.**_

 _ **If you want to catch up with me and your other favorite writers, join our Discord server:**_

[discord . gg / uDxVym8]

 _ **To those who want to join our Akame ga kill server…**_

[discord. gg / VX6sVkq]

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	32. Kill the Empathy

_**Note: Vote in the poll, dudes. You have 4 days left.**_

 _ **I apologize for the OOCs if you find and notice them... it was all for the story.**_

"Normal Talking"

" _Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I am don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters… I also don't own the song here…**_

* * *

 _ **-Start song (Fairy Tail OP 16 - Strike Back) -**_

 **Wooooaaahhh… wooaah… woooaaahh… woaaaoohh…**

 _-Tatsumi is standing on top of a hilltop as the sun starts to rise before it cuts to his face, with him closing his eyes_

 **(Strike Back!)**

 _-Tatsumi snaps his eyes open and slashes across the screen, and the Akame ga Kill! logo shows during the instrumental_

 **Kidō sura kae rarenai kurai no kakuritsuda to shite mo**

 _-The Emperor and Honest are standing on the palace's balcony, watching at the war between the Revolutionary Army and the Empire_

 **ippāsento demo areba mo chiron teikō desho?**

 _-The members of Night Raid and the Jaegers start walking towards each other, with Najenda and Esdeath leading their respective groups_

 **Shosen, 'unmei' to nagetsuke raretatte, No I Won't!**

 _-In the Jaegers' Meeting Room, Marina gets introduced to the other Jaegers and she smiles before she found herself staring at Ren_

 **Hikkurikaeshite, Because**

 _-Chelsea looks back behind her with a horrified look on her face as blood covers the screen_

 **datte kimi to mirai wo miretara saikō janai?**

 _-An lifeless arm covered in blood falls to the ground in a puddle of blood and images of Akame, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Spear, Sayo, and Chelsea appear one-by-one before a black boot stomps on the puddle of blood_

 **Bring it on! cuz I'm just gonna grow up in the battle HEY!**

 _-A young Tatsumi and Esdeath are shown fighting each other in the tournament at the Northern Region_

 **Buchi nuku donten! Still burning my fire**

 _-Back in the battlefield, Run flies through the sky and kills several soldiers from above_

 **ten wo kirisaku raimei**

 _-Ren and Bols work together with their flames to burn down and weaken the attacking army_

 **I gotta kakikesu**

 _-Wave fights and quickly wins against several rebels with his Grand Chariot_

 **Nightmare tada mirai ga mitakute!**

 _-Kurome unsheathes Yatsufusa and cuts down all the soldiers in her way while Marina, in her combat outfit, sliced her way through everyone with her claws as she slashes the screen_

 **Kako,**

 _-Tatsumi shows up with a determined expression_

 **mirai,**

 _-Akame is seen with a very sad look on her face_

 **soshite iki teru ima,**

 _-Kurome cries into Wave's clothes as she hugged him_

 **I ain't scared of my past and now for taku sa reta asu**

 _-All of the members of Night Raid charge on into battle, pulling out their respective teigus_

 **Screaming out for my pride!**

 _-Esdeath flashes a sadistic grin_

 **Namida mitakunai kara, sakebi tsuzukeru yo! Zutto…**

 _-Tatsumi wipes the tears from his eyes as he flew down the hilltop and zoomed towards Esdeath despite the icicles that she sent to attack him_

 **(I'm never falling down! Oi kaze wo se ni fukitobasu Destiny!)**

 _-Tatsumi and Esdeath fight each other at a very fast pace that no one could catch up with their movements_

 **Kono senaka ni aru,**

 _-Akame faces off with Kurome on opposite sides of the battlefield with tears in her eyes_

 **egao mamoritai kara!**

 _-The rest of Night Raid assemble in the battlefield and prepare to fight back_

 **Zutto… (I gotta blast off your pain for you and me!)**

 _-Ren is sitting in his room, alone, as he flashed a dark look while imagining how would it be like when he has Akame to himself_

 **(Kanashimi nante Rest in peace!)**

 _-Marina hugs Ren from behind and he is shocked, cutting off his dark thoughts_

 **Nando demo…**

 _-Tatsumi charges towards Esdeath one last time as it cuts to the sky, a shooting star seen visible as it flew through the air_

 _ **-End of song-**_

* * *

 **(Moments Later; Unknown Location)**

"W-Wait…" Tatsumi muttered, his mouth hanging in shock as he stared at the vast beach and sprawling ocean in front of him. "What the hell is going on here? Where are we?! What happened?!" he exclaimed in alarm, turning his head into various directions to observe his surroundings.

"This is quite odd…" Esdeath said in a calm tone, as she stroked her chin, taking note of her surroundings as well.

"Oh no… I'm a long way from home… what, am I dreaming or something?" Tatsumi questioned, frowning in confusion before he quickly turned to the blue-haired woman next to him with a confused look. "H-Hey Esdeath, can you punch me in the face as hard as you can? I feel like a simple hit won't do shit to me."

"Oh, Tatsumi…" Esdeath breathed out as she pressed a hand against her cheek, a slight blush starting to appear across her face. "We are truly meant to be!"

"Can you just stop with that shit for a second!" Tatsumi yelled, a tick mark appearing on his head. "What I mean, is that weird guy from the mountain might be making us hallucinate or something… so if I feel some pain it might wake me up! Get it?"

"Very well, if that is what you want, my love… close your eyes." Esdeath said as she raised her hand to slap the young man; the moment she saw that Tatsumi's eyes were fully closed, a small smile spread across her features. Tatsumi kept his eyes shut as he waited for Esdeath to hit him, but he was confused when nothing happened after a few moments.

"Hey, what's taking you so long?" Peeking for a moment, Tatsumi's eyes suddenly widened when he saw that Esdeath's face was inches away from his own. The bluenette gave him no time to react, as she cupped his face and kissed him passionately. Tatsumi stood frozen in shock as he once again found himself in Esdeath's loving arms. This was the third time she had kissed him (the second time for this day), and as much as he wanted to deny and reject it, Tatsumi was again enjoying the sensation on his lips. Unlike what happened earlier, he had put up a fight before he nearly gave out in their liplock, but now it was different. He immediately gave in to what he felt and it was like he fell for her powerful charm. However, just before Tatsumi began to kiss her back, Esdeath already pulled away.

"H-Hey, why'd you do that?! That was the third time today!" he exclaimed with his cheeks growing red, feeling extremely flustered right now.

Adjusting her cap, Esdeath turned her back to the young man, mainly to hide the furious blush on her face. As she walked slightly further down the beach to explore the place more, Tatsumi couldn't help but stare at the subtle swaying of her hips with every second.

"That alone proves that this isn't a hallucination, Tatsumi. Everything here is too real. The scent of salt, the sea breeze… the temperature and thee humidity… it's the real deal."

* * *

 **(Same Time; Other Side of the Island)**

"W-Where am I?" Ren asked in shock, looking at the massive forest that was in front of him. "General, are you there?" He tried looking around him for his superior, the one who probably has an idea on what's going on, but she wasn't there. "General?! General, where are we?!" he started to panic, unsure of what he should do right now.

That is, until he heard someone nearby speak up.

"A beach connecting to a vast ocean, and a forest covering the landscape… we must be in an island that's away from the capital…"

Ren turned his head to look at the person who just spoke, and he immediately found himself locking gazes with the girl he was trying to chase down ever since earlier, Akame.

Although he noticed that her feet weren't frozen anymore, now was not the time to be curious about that. "Miss? Do you have an idea where we are right now?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at his surroundings.

" _I should've kept my mouth shut."_ Akame thought to herself, and without another word, she took off into the forest in an effort to get away from the red-haired man.

"Hey! Please don't run away! I'm just asking a question!" he exclaimed, his instincts as a guard kicking in as he began to ran after her once again, going into the forest and keeping his eye on the raven-haired girl.

" _That man on the mountain with Esdeath and Tatsumi, he's the one behind this…"_ she thought as she ran through the trees recklessly, not even caring where should end up. " _He must have done something that managed to transport us to this place, but there's no sign of him, Esdeath or Tatsumi anywhere…"_ Akame then thought about the mystery man they had encountered back on the mountain, and specifically the pendant he was holding at that time. " _Could it be… that pendant was a teigu that can teleport people across vast distances?"_

Unfortunately for Akame, it was Ren's burning spirit and will that allowed him to catch up to her, nearly grabbing ahold of her hair. "Miss! Just stop running for a second, for God's sake!" he exclaimed, and forcing Akame to speed up even more, gaining distance from him. "Oh, come on!"

She glanced behind her back. " _Why won't he just leave me alone? Doesn't he know who I am?"_ she thought to herself in slight irritation, before she began to unsheathe _**Murasame**_. " _This is going nowhere. We can't possibly be seen by anyone else, and I shall make this quick."_

All of a sudden, Akame had stopped running and it caused Ren to stop in his tracks as well, panting heavily. "Finally!" he sighed in relief, wiping the sweat off his forehead as he took deep breaths. "Miss… you have… no idea how fast you are… but thank you for —" he was cut off from his words when Akame had _**Murasame**_ pointed towards his neck, forcing Ren to raise his arms up in defeat, backing away slightly.

"Why are you following me?" she asked through narrowed eyes, slowly cornering Ren towards a tree as she threatened him with her sword.

"Hey, I asked you a question and you didn't answer!" he replied, looking nervous as he stared into Akame's eyes. "I just wanted you to answer me…"

"Why would a subordinate of Esdeath ask me a question when it's your duty to eliminate the enemies of the Empire?" she continued, holding the blade dangerously close to Ren's neck.

"You're an enemy of the Empire? I didn't know that!" he shook his head, now finding himself cornered against the tree with nowhere to go.

"I've heard too much lies from you. Eliminate." Akame said coldly, slashing her sword against the tree to finish him, only to feel that she didn't hit anything besides wood.

"Look, I really have no idea about what you're talking about, but don't you think we should be focused on other things than trying to kill me?" Akame turned around and saw Ren standing behind her, still raising his arms up in defeat. "I'm not gonna hurt you or anything, so can't you at least hear me out?"

"What are you trying to tell me? What other things?" Akame asked, pointing _**Murasame**_ towards the redhead, not wanting to give him any openings to attack.

"We're obviously in a place far away from the capital just like what you said… I want to get back there, and I think you do too… so…" he paused for a bit to hesitate, before he spoke again anyways. "Why don't we find a way to get back there and _then_ you can go kill me like what you planned?"

Akame lowered _**Murasame**_ slightly, furrowing her eyebrows at Ren's words. "What are you proposing?"

"Well I don't want to fight you or anything and you wanted to kill me just now…" he gulped, the blush on his face growing with every second. "But I want to get back to the capital where my home is, don't you want the same, miss?"

Akame didn't answer, as she simply slid _**Murasame**_ back into its sheath, keeping her look of suspicion on Ren. "Are you proposing a truce between us?"

"Uh, if that's the way how you put it, then yeah…" he turned his head to the side to avoid her striking gaze. "Either way, I don't want to fight you."

"And you expect me to believe you?" she threatened, narrowing her eyes even further. "If you think I am letting my guard down, then you'll find yourself dead in a few seconds. Even if Esdeath won't be pleased with me."

"Fine, if you really don't want to believe me…" he sighed and knelt down, looking at the ground and spreading his arms wide. "Just kill me right now and end it. I'm your enemy, right? You were saying it earlier. I really don't want a fight and besides, I don't have any weapon besides my stupid ring… so, just do it."

"What are you doing?" Akame asked in her neutral tone, slightly confused with what the red-haired man was trying to do. Was he letting himself get killed?

"As my father once said to me, an enemy is like a person's most prized flower. It brings him joy to see it buried in the ground. I would be honored to die by my enemy's hand than go back to my village and be humiliated by everyone I know. So… just do it."

Akame stared at him blankly.

* * *

 **(Same Time; With Tatsumi and Esdeath)**

"So that means that that mysterious man's teigu was able to transport us all the way here?" Tatsumi asked, scratching his hair in confusion. "Uh, is something like that even possible for a teigu?"

"Yes, very much so." Esdeath replied, crossing her arms underneath her chest, her back still facing towards Tatsumi. "Teigus are very diverse and unique in their own way, Tatsumi. I've heard that some of them are capable of lost arts… that are even able to manipulate space itself."

"Really… that's incredible." Tatsumi said, as he grabbed _**Starfall's**_ handle, unsheathing the sword for a bit to take note of Esdeath's words. " _Manipulate space… that's kinda like when this thing lets me fly through the air… it must mean that the bastard earlier is real bad news for us, if his teigu is as strong as I suspect it to be. And if we're out here, then Akame and Ren might also be in this place… if that teigu only transports its targets to a single place…"_

" _Just who was that man?"_ Esdeath said in deep thought, staring up at the sky. _"That teigu he was using was quite powerful, possibly even in the top five… to be able to teleport Tatsumi, Ren, Akame of Night Raid, and myself all the way to this island… wait, does that mean Ren is here as well?"_

"So I guess it's pretty safe to presume that we're on an island somewhere near the capital…" Tatsumi said, walking up towards the blue-haired woman. "What do you think, Little Miss Perfect?"

"I can't be too sure, but how about we get a better look around?" Esdeath smirked at the use of his nickname for herself, before she slammed her hand into the ground.

"What are you —" Tatsumi was cut off when the ground beneath him had begun to tremble. A few moments later, his eyes then widened in shock when he suddenly found himself standing atop a massive pillar of ice with Esdeath. "Holy fuck… we're so high up… and… it feels like I can see for miles!" Sitting down at the edge, Tatsumi whistled in awe at the seemingly endless ocean before him. "The ocean seems to stretch on forever… it looks like I was right about us being on an island."

"It's quite the lovely view." she smiled, sitting on the edge of the ice pillar next to Tatsumi. "You know… with us being all alone like this… it kinda feels like we're on a date together."

"You sure are calm, despite the situation we're in." Tatsumi said, rolling his eyes in a sarcastic manner. "What happened to the 'daddy's girl' Esdeath that I used to know back then? But… I can't say I'm too surprised. After reuniting with you, it seems like you always manage to keep calm under pressure now."

"Well after living the life I have, you learn to keep a flexible attitude. That includes my life after my father passed away." Esdeath replied, covertly scooting closer to Tatsumi. "But let's forget about that for now…" Without any warning, the bluenette lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Tatsumi's neck, hugging him against her chest. Looking back, Tatsumi felt his heartbeat quicken when he saw a bright smile and a slight blush appear on Esdeath's face. "It totally feels like we're on a date, my love! I'm so happy right now!"

 _"Oh yeah… she's totally fallen for me, and I'm still taken aback by knowing that. Is it really because I fit her standards, or is it because I beat her when we were in that tournament?"_ Tatsumi thought, staring at Esdeath's overjoyed face. _"She's like a little girl when it comes to love… so I guess she really has never experienced anything like this before. I still don't really understand why she chose me out all people, and I have no idea what I'm gonna do with her… I already have Akame, Leone, and Mine… having a cruel and sadistic general join them would be —"_ Tatsumi was pulled out of his thoughts when the ice tower began to shake and the deep rumbling could be heard in the distance.

Turning their heads to look towards the horizon, both Tatsumi and Esdeath were surprised to see a massive danger beast towering over the treeline. But what surprised Tatsumi the most was that the massive beast looked eerily similar to Dr. Stylish after he had transformed into a monster before his apparent death. _"There's no doubt, that thing has to be connected to Dr. Stylish somehow. I need to kill this clown fast and figure out how to find Akame! I'll deal with Esdeath later!"_

"All of these distractions… they come and go, one after another." Esdeath muttered, releasing a heavy sigh of annoyance as she stood back up onto her feet.

"Here it comes!" Tatsumi called out, as he watched the gigantic danger beast barrel towards them. Wasting no time, Tatsumi grabbed his pistol and loaded a fresh new magazine into it. "Esdeath, let me back you —"

"No." Esdeath cut him off, holding out her arms and pressing her fingertips together, a faint glow coming from the mark on her chest. "This scum has interrupted us while we're alone." Tatsumi watched in awe as dozens of spears made out of ice formed in the air all around the blue-haired woman. "We were interrupted once earlier, and I will not tolerate any more interference! You'll look like a delicious treat to my icicles!" Flashing a wicked smile, Esdeath waved her arm towards the colossal beast, sending her icicles flying towards it. _**"Weissschnabel!"**_

"What exactly is her teigu? It's just ice yet… so strong…" Tatsumi pondered, as he watched another wave of icicles seemingly form out of thin air. "From what I've seen so far, she doesn't use power from a weapon or some kind of armor… forget it, I'll just ask her about it later… but for now…"

Turning his attention back to the monstrous danger beast, Tatsumi narrowed his eyes as he watched the monster block Esdeath's icicles with its massive arms. _"Just as I thought, this bastard is gonna be tough to kill, like Stylish. I can't just stand around and let Esdeath do all the work."_ He looked at the pistol on his hand for a moment, before returning it in its holster. " _I'm not a wanted guy in the capital… so I think it won't be a problem if I use it… I'll deal with Esdeath's reaction, either way."_

"Oho, he's much tougher than I thought. This certainly has become more interesting. I enjoy a good challenge by my prey…" Esdeath said in a calm tone, a smirk spreading across her facial features.

"That thing on its forehead…" Tatsumi said, pointing towards to the human that was fused to the top of the monster's head. "That's got to be its weakness, right? If we get rid of it, it should go down."

"I was thinking the exact same thing." Esdeath grinned, slamming her hand onto ice pillar. "I knew we were destined to be together, Tatsumi! _**Grauhorn!"**_ The ice tower that they were both standing on shook for a moment, before a gigantic spear of ice suddenly erupted from the center of the pillar. The ice spear then raced towards the danger beast's head, but the monster managed to move to the side at the last moment, causing Esdeath's attack to just barely miss her target.

" _I guess I have to deal with her after, but for now… it's time to fly!"_ Tatsumi thought to himself, getting ready to fight.

"You're quite the stubborn one, aren't you?" Esdeath was getting ready to launch another attack, but she was shocked when she noticed Tatsumi just ran past her. The young assassin suddenly leaped off the tower and landed on the giant spear of ice in its center. Without a moment's hesitation, Tatsumi ran as fast as he can towards the colossal danger beast. Esdeath's eyes were filled with worry, as she watched Tatsumi prepare to take on the danger beast all by himself. "Tatsumi?!"

" _This is gonna blow my cover, but I'll deal with it!"_ Tatsumi thought, unsheathing _**Starfall**_ as he grew closer to his target. As Tatsumi neared the danger beast, he saw a huge gap between the ice spear and the monster. " _Here it comes!"_

"TATSUMI!" Esdeath exclaimed, watching as the brunette charge into battle head-on. For several moments Esdeath could feel her heart thundering with worry, not caring about the fact that Tatsumi just flew through the air by some unknown reason, nor that he was wielding a mysterious sword she had never seen before.

Reaching the end of the ice spear, Tatsumi leaped into the air and flew towards the danger beast with incredible speed, keeping his attention glued to the monster's forehead. "You're dumped!" Tatsumi took a deep breath to calm himself as he cut through the danger beast's forehead that he looked like he was phasing through it, before landing behind the monstrous being, the bright light coating his body dissipating into thin air as he sheathed _**Starfall**_. The top portion of the danger beast's head fell to the ground followed by its body, killing it immediately.

Esdeath breathed out a massive sigh of relief when she saw Tatsumi walk towards the dead monster a few moments later, a huge smile appearing on his face. What had only lasted a few seconds earlier felt like an eternity to Esdeath.

"Damn, that felt energizing!" Tatsumi cheered with a massive grin, stopping at the danger beast's shoulder, overlooking the dead being. The young assassin looked completely unscathed like nothing happened as he stomped on the monster's body. "That wasn't so bad after all!"

 _"W-Why is my heart beating so fast?"_ Esdeath thought, lowering her gaze and clutching a hand over her still pounding heart. _"I've lost numerous comrades and underlings before this… but when I think of losing Tatsumi… my chest starts to ache and I feel emotional… is this because I truly love him? This isn't anything like what I felt when my father passed away…"_ Esdeath shook her head and narrowed her eyes when that unpleasant memory flashed through her mind. _"Well I don't like this at all, and I don't want to lose Tatsumi… I have to do my best to keep him safe… I'll have to make him join my side and I won't have to worry about losing him again… even if I take into account what happened at the mountain earlier…"_ A small smile spread across Esdeath's face, as she turned her gaze back to Tatsumi. _"It's quite funny, though… I wanted to show off and make Tatsumi fall for me… but somehow, he made me fall for him even harder… however, I won't stand for his recklessness and I shall give him punishment…"_

"Esdeath! You better watch out! Another one of those things coming right at you!" Tatsumi's concerned screams managed to pull Esdeath from her thoughts, gaining her attention. Turning around, Esdeath then spotted another towering danger beast barreling towards her location.

" _Now's not the time to be thinking about those type of things…"_ Esdeath thought, her eyes narrowing in frustration as the blue-haired general hopped off of the ice pillar, a fierce glare appearing on her face. "Leave it all to me, Tatsumi. I'll give him a death fitting a disgusting beast." Esdeath snapped her fingers, as a ball of ice the size of a small building formed over her head. _**"Hagel Sprung!"**_ Throwing both her arms forward, Esdeath hurled the huge chunk of ice at the monster, crushing it underneath tons of frozen water.

"That's some way to use ice as a weapon… and it's like she's on a completely different level with it." Tatsumi muttered in awe, hopping down onto the ground from the danger beast he was standing on. The young assassin watched as Esdeath fought gracefully, looking as if she hadn't even broken a sweat after using such powerful attacks. _"To be able to use ice in such a powerful way, I think I'll have a hard time in fighting her. She's changed so much after the battle that we had years ago, she's not the same back then…"_ Taking a deep breath, Tatsumi remembered what he asked Najenda for by the climax of this war. _"I know what my decision is, and I won't change my mind! No matter how strong she is, I must be the one to fight her when the time comes. If it ever turns out to be that way, I need to keep the ones I care about safe from harm! I don't care if it costs my life!"_ When Tatsumi looked back up, he was surprised to see the bluenette was rapidly walking towards him, her cap hiding her blue eyes. _"Hang on, what's with that look of hers? She must be —"_ Tatsumi's thoughts were cut off when Esdeath harshly slapped him across the cheek.

"Don't you ever worry me like that ever again, Tatsumi." Esdeath said, hugging the young man's head against her chest, much to the young assassin's shock and embarrassment. "I thought I was going to lose you."

 _"What's with this woman? I can't understand her!"_ Tatsumi thought, pushing her away gently. _"But… why am I feeling this way? It feels like I don't want to fight her…"_ Looking up, Tatsumi locked eyes with the blue-haired woman in front of him. "Sorry Esdeath, but I had to step in. I can't just let you fight by yourself, you know."

"I appreciate the thought Tatsumi, but I could have handled things myself… unless you're underestimating me. Don't forget…" Esdeath said with a smirk, cupping Tatsumi's chin as his eyes widened slightly. "You will be mine Tatsumi, so don't go doing reckless things that will get you killed." After planting a quick kiss on his cheek that she had slapped earlier, Esdeath began to walk down the beach away from the brunette. "Now, let's find a suitable place to set up camp for the night."

"That woman is seriously too complicated to understand… but I may be able to find a way to get through to her and get what I need and do this without having to fight her." Tatsumi sighed, scratching the back of his head.

" _Her allegiance."_

* * *

 **(With Ren and Akame)**

Akame continued to stare at the red-haired man kneeling on the ground for the next few moments, her hand just resting on _**Murasame's**_ handle. There was her enemy, a member of the Jaegers, right in front of her and completely vulnerable for her to kill.

"Well?" Ren said, closing his eyes and bowing his head as he waited for her to move. "I'm not moving, you're free to finish me off, Miss."

While he was busy blabbering out words of encouragement, the raven-haired assassin finally noticed the golden ring he had on his finger, causing a specific memory to flash in her mind. Remembering Lubbock's words after Tatsumi returned from being captured by Esdeath, Akame narrowed her eyes and unsheathed _**Murasame**_ , pointing the teigu dangerously close to his neck once again.

"And what would you do if I make a move?" she asked with her monotone voice. "If I am not mistaken, that ring of yours can control fire, Ren Ozaki."

His eyes suddenly snapped open in shock as he looked at her, his mouth agape. "H-How did you —?" he was immediately cut off from his words when Akame drew her sword closer to his neck, forcing him to lean back on his elbows to stay away. He would've let himself be killed, but he had a question that needed to be answered.

"What would you do if I attack you right now? This is too suspicious for you to give up like this, especially when you work for someone like Esdeath." Akame said, unknowingly starting to lose her assassin nature.

"I'm telling the truth, I'm not going to fight back!" he shook his head as he showed her his right hand, where his ring was located. "I can't even take this thing off as it's stuck to my finger, watch!" He then tried to pull the ring off his hand, using every bit of his strength to take it off, to no avail. Not giving up there, Ren took a deep breath and tried to take it off once again, but it was still an unsuccessful attempt.

"Now, do you see that I'm telling the truth?" he asked her, showing her his hand once again, and his ring didn't even look like it moved an inch.

Akame's silence was all that he needed for an answer.

"I guess you don't have any reason not to believe me anymore, so just do it then." Ren clasped his hands together behind his back, before lowering his head once again, prepared for Akame to end his suffering.

Akame stared at him blankly once again, thinking about what she was going to do. Her assassin nature wanted to get this over with and proceed to killing him, just like how she accomplished her past missions. Like how she assassinated her enemies, she wanted to give him even a simple cut, which was enough to kill him due to _**Murasame's**_ curse.

But…

Her emotions were beginning to be unleashed, all because of how Tatsumi got her to open up to others; she took note of how this man in front of her would rather die by an enemy's hand instead of being humiliated by the people around him, and Akame realized that he was somehow an opposite of Tatsumi. Her boyfriend was willing to fight to the end, even if the world was against him like what he showed when he fought against an elite like Esdeath when they were younger. Akame herself took him on and even though it was possible that he was about to fight the whole of Night Raid, he didn't waver and continued to fight, nearly beating her at her own game.

Ren Ozaki, the man who was kneeling in front of her, was the opposite. He didn't want the world to look down on him and would rather die, somewhat showing a cowardly side. Still, Akame saw a bit of Tatsumi's personality in him, like how he refused to let her go when they had that wild good chase earlier. She somehow felt empathy for him, because there were times in her life that she wanted to die for the sins she had committed in her life instead of living happily after all of this, but Tatsumi helped her through that and he wanted to give her that happiness.

Her emotions told her otherwise.

Looks like opening up to others had its own disadvantages.

Her grip on her teigu tightened further, her inner self being caught in a conflict between her emotions and her mission. She knew she had to eliminate any enemy of Night Raid but like what Tatsumi said, she was human and she had emotions. Her human side told her to lay down her arms and decide against it, while her assassin side is saying the opposite.

Unbeknownst to her, the ring on Ren's finger begun to glow again, but she couldn't see it since his hands were behind him.

Ultimately, Akame closed her eyes and sighed in frustration, sliding _**Murasame**_ back into its sheath as she turned around and looked at her surroundings, thinking deeply. " _As much as I don't trust a soldier under Esdeath, he has a point. I don't know where I am nor do I have an idea on where Tatsumi is… I'll let this slide until I find him… if we got teleported into this area, he must be with Esdeath somewhere in this island."_

" _Hey, what's taking her so long?"_ Ren asked in his thoughts, wondering why Akame was taking so long despite the simple thing he told her to do, leading him to raising his head to look at her. His eyes widened slightly when she was standing not too far from him, her back facing him as if she didn't even know he was there.

"H-Hey, Miss… aren't you… gonna kill me?" he asked, confused why she didn't finish the job while she had the chance.

"If I kill you now, I'd have a hard time navigating my way back to the capital and it's likely I never get back there." she half-lied emotionlessly, not even turning around to face him. "Even if I don't like accepting help from someone who is supposed to be my enemy, I have no choice but to work together with you until we find a way out of here."

"R-Really?" he asked, his eyes widening in shock.

"If you keep on kneeling where you are, we won't be finding ourselves out of here sooner. Get up and follow me, we have to find a place where we can set up camp. It's getting late and I am hungry for meat." she said, glancing behind her for a moment before she started to walk away. " _I hope I can find Tatsumi soon… who knows what that Esdeath is doing to him… I won't let her use her charms on my Tatsumi!"_ Akame thought to herself, tightly balling her fists in anger.

" _W-Wha…"_ Ren thought to himself in awe, in disbelief with what just happened. Although he was literally caught off guard with her words, it only took him a few seconds to realize that Akame was walking further away from him. Standing up in alarm, he quickly jogged over to her so he could catch up to the red-eyed assassin.

"Wait for me, I'm right here!" he called out, catching up to Akame in no time as he followed her from behind. "Miss, I really don't get why you spared me but I just want to —" he tried to say, only to get cut off when Akame turned around and quickly had _**Murasame**_ against his neck, shutting him up in his place.

"Don't get the wrong idea, Ren Ozaki. We are not friends or even acquaintances at this moment. I am only a mere stranger to you for now." she threatened through narrowed eyes, making the redhead sweat nervously. "You are my enemy, an ally of the Empire and nothing stops me from taking your life once we get off this island."

"O-Okay, got it!" he exclaimed, nodding his head furiously as Akame sheathed her teigu once again. "We're just strangers to each other, nothing more! Seems easy enough to understand!"

Akame gave him one last look of suspicion as she turned her attention back to her surroundings, trying to see if there were any danger beasts nearby. "Now, we need to hold off finding a place to camp and hunt for danger beasts instead." she said, looking at Ren.

"H-Huh? Wait, why do we have to go hunting right now?" he asked in confusion, quirking an eyebrow. Earlier, she was saying that they needed to camp somewhere, but why did she want to go hunting now? Was she somehow like Esdeath to hunt at night or something?

The sound of a stomach growling followed after.

"I'm hungry," Akame said.

Ren hung his head at her words.

"W-What the… is she… a-another Kurome?" he sweat-dropped, his eyebrow twitching slightly.

* * *

 _ **Uh oh. Akame spared Ren? Hmm, what luck! Is Tatsumi planning to get Esdeath to join Night Raid? Oh, I wonder where this would all lead to… I can't wait to find out!**_

 _ **I apologize if Akame was OOC in this, but I think I had it spot on with the emotions part and how she treats Ren…**_

 _ **Harem (Final): Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda, Wave x Kurome**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review. PLEASE REVIEW.**_

 _ **If you want to catch up with me and your other favorite writers, join our Discord server:**_

[discord . gg / uDxVym8]

 _ **To those who want to join our Akame ga kill server…**_

[discord. gg / VX6sVkq]

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


	33. Kill the Truth

_**Author's Note: Well, the poll has officially ended and as of this moment, Kurome is now joining Tatsumi's harem! Sorry Wave, but the people have spoken. Out of 53 votes, more than 30 people said yes while the rest have said no, but either way, she's in. Keep in mind that this will cause some major changes in the storyline so be on the lookout for that. Until then!**_

 _ **P. S. Good news to all Tatsumi x Akame fans out there, including me! I have started a new fic, dedicated to our favorite AGK ship called "The ABCs of TaKame". It's a collection of stories following each letter of the alphabet, meaning a new story awaits for every chapter. If you're a fan of Tatsumi x Akame, then please give my fanfic a read. I personally recommend it. Check it out in my profile and have fun, TaKame shippers!**_

"Normal Talking"

" _Thoughts"_

 **(Time and Place Indicators)**

 _ **Teigu**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I am don't own Akame ga kill or any of its characters… I also don't own the song here…**_

* * *

 _ **-Start song (Fairy Tail OP 16 - Strike Back) -**_

 **Wooooaaahhh… wooaah… woooaaahh… woaaaoohh…**

 _-Tatsumi is standing on top of a hilltop as the sun starts to rise before it cuts to his face, with him closing his eyes_

 **(Strike Back!)**

 _-Tatsumi snaps his eyes open and slashes across the screen, and the Akame ga Kill! logo shows during the instrumental_

 **Kidō sura kae rarenai kurai no kakuritsuda to shite mo**

 _-The Emperor and Honest are standing on the palace's balcony, watching at the war between the Revolutionary Army and the Empire_

 **ippāsento demo areba mo chiron teikō desho?**

 _-The members of Night Raid and the Jaegers start walking towards each other, with Najenda and Esdeath leading their respective groups_

 **Shosen, 'unmei' to nagetsuke raretatte, No I Won't!**

 _-In the Jaegers' Meeting Room, Marina gets introduced to the other Jaegers and she smiles before she found herself staring at Ren_

 **Hikkurikaeshite, Because**

 _-Chelsea looks back behind her with a horrified look on her face as blood covers the screen_

 **datte kimi to mirai wo miretara saikō janai?**

 _-An lifeless arm covered in blood falls to the ground in a puddle of blood and images of Akame, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Spear, Sayo, and Chelsea appear one-by-one before a black boot stomps on the puddle of blood_

 **Bring it on! cuz I'm just gonna grow up in the battle HEY!**

 _-A young Tatsumi and Esdeath are shown fighting each other in the tournament at the Northern Region_

 **Buchi nuku donten! Still burning my fire**

 _-Back in the battlefield, Run flies through the sky and kills several soldiers from above_

 **ten wo kirisaku raimei**

 _-Ren and Bols work together with their flames to burn down and weaken the attacking army_

 **I gotta kakikesu**

 _-Wave fights and quickly wins against several rebels with his Grand Chariot_

 **Nightmare tada mirai ga mitakute!**

 _-Kurome unsheathes Yatsufusa and cuts down all the soldiers in her way while Marina, in her combat outfit, sliced her way through everyone with her claws as she slashes the screen_

 **Kako,**

 _-Tatsumi shows up with a determined expression_

 **mirai,**

 _-Akame is seen with a very sad look on her face_

 **soshite iki teru ima,**

 _-Kurome cries into Wave's clothes as she hugged him_

 **I ain't scared of my past and now for taku sa reta asu**

 _-All of the members of Night Raid charge on into battle, pulling out their respective teigus_

 **Screaming out for my pride!**

 _-Esdeath flashes a sadistic grin_

 **Namida mitakunai kara, sakebi tsuzukeru yo! Zutto…**

 _-Tatsumi wipes the tears from his eyes as he flew down the hilltop and zoomed towards Esdeath despite the icicles that she sent to attack him_

 **(I'm never falling down! Oi kaze wo se ni fukitobasu Destiny!)**

 _-Tatsumi and Esdeath fight each other at a very fast pace that no one could catch up with their movements_

 **Kono senaka ni aru,**

 _-Akame faces off with Kurome on opposite sides of the battlefield with tears in her eyes_

 **egao mamoritai kara!**

 _-The rest of Night Raid assemble in the battlefield and prepare to fight back_

 **Zutto… (I gotta blast off your pain for you and me!)**

 _-Ren is sitting in his room, alone, as he flashed a dark look while imagining how would it be like when he has Akame to himself_

 **(Kanashimi nante Rest in peace!)**

 _-Marina hugs Ren from behind and he is shocked, cutting off his dark thoughts_

 **Nando demo…**

 _-Tatsumi charges towards Esdeath one last time as it cuts to the sky, a shooting star seen visible as it flew through the air_

 _ **-End of song-**_

* * *

 **(Two Hours Later; Makeshift Camp)**

"I must admit Tatsumi, that was quite a delicious meal… if we were in the palace, I'd ask for more." Esdeath said, setting down her makeshift bowl before picking up a small notebook. "You're not only a powerful fighter, but an excellent cook as well."

"Thanks. I did my best to come up with something good with what little materials we managed to end up with earlier." Tatsumi said as he chuckled slightly at her remark. "Anyways, those two danger beasts should be the remaining ones nearby and there's no telling if there are still some lurking around this place."

"There might be more of them in this island, Tatsumi. We could encounter more of them as we go on later, so be prepared." Esdeath adjusted her cap slightly, as she scribbled down something in her notebook.

"Yeah, but we're still stuck here in this place." Tatsumi shrugged, staring out at the ocean behind them. "Once we're done with our little stop here, what do you think we should do afterwards? I don't want to stay here and just stick around without doing anything, since I want to get back home."

"Well first, we need to investigate the surrounding area. We still need to get a good grasp of our situation, Tatsumi." Esdeath replied, not looking up from her notebook before she suddenly narrowed her eyes in suspicion. _"If we're lucky, we may be able to find Ren, considering he's still alive and… Akame of the Demon Blade_ _ **Murasame**_ _. Later on, I'll confront Tatsumi in this matter… he seems to know about somebody who is supposed to be an enemy of the Empire, which is interesting…"_

"Fair point." Tatsumi said, setting down his own makeshift bowl as he outstretched his limbs for a bit. "There's still so much we don't know about this place, so it's best to have a look around."

"I must say, you've been taking this whole situation remarkably well compared earlier. Is this another way for you to impress me even more, Tatsumi?" Esdeath commented, standing up from the ground.

"Uh, no… I've been taught as a kid on how to remain calm even under pressure or even while feeling intense pain." Tatsumi replied with a sweat-drop, getting back up onto his feet as well. "Besides, aren't you here to watch my back, Little Miss Perfect?" he asked, smirking at Esdeath.

"Don't worry Tatsumi, I'll do whatever I can to keep you safe from any harm." Esdeath smiled, a slight blush appearing across her face. "Now, let's start exploring this island."

"I'll lead the way then." Tatsumi said, clenching his fist as he ran for the forest eagerly. _"This way, I can go look for Akame at the same time! I hope she's all right, wherever she is… I'm not leaving this place without her!"_

 _"That Tatsumi… he must be searching for her as his secondary goal then with that sudden burst of energy… and that weird sword of his as well… I'm getting my answers later on…"_ Esdeath thought, watching as Tatsumi hacked away some vines with his sword and before making his way into the trees. However, once he finally was out of sight, Esdeath pulled out her notebook and gazed down at a rough sketch of her and Tatsumi; the woman frowned as she stared at her own drawing. "Hmmm, it doesn't quite look like him."

* * *

 **(Same Time; Inside the Forest)**

"Here's another one. Pile it up with the others and cook it." Akame said in her emotionless tone, wiping the sweat off her beautiful face as she flicked the danger beast blood off _**Murasame**_. "That should be enough as dinner." The red-haired assassin then sat by the campfire, as she started to skin the beasts that she had brought back, her eyes transforming into plates with sparkles on them.

"Is it really? I somehow doubt that…" Ren sighed as he carried another dead Marg Don towards the campfire, throwing it on the huge pile of lifeless danger beasts beside it. "Goodness sake, Miss… how big is your appetite?" He went back to the campfire, making sure that the danger beast he was trying to cook won't _burn_ …

Or he'd be killed without a second thought.

"I'm hungry," she answered simply without saying anything else.

"That doesn't answer the question…" he retorted silently, wanting to avoid any form of conflict while she was around. Silence between the two broke out and everything was quiet between them for a few moments, before Ren found himself staring at his companion, taking in her entire appearance and burning it inside his mind.

She was here. The girl he had been secretly searching for was just here with him, and she wasn't going anywhere this time. Well, not without him, at least. It was a personal goal of Ren to be able to see her again, and he managed to accomplished it through a series of unfortunate events. As dirty as a tactic it was, she was here and nobody could deny that.

But why did it feel like there was something missing?

"Could I have your name, Miss?" he asked, glancing at her slightly, not turning his full attention away from the campfire or their food might burn.

Perhaps a conversation between them should spark up.

"I don't see why I should tell you who I am when you already know it." she replied without any tone of hesitation in her voice.

"Already know it?" he repeated, quirking an eyebrow in confusion. "I hate to burst your bubble, but I have no idea who you are, Miss… otherwise I wouldn't have asked…" he chuckled slightly, finishing up the Marg Don he was cooking as he put in a new one in the fire.

"With the amount of wanted posters around the capital that all have my name and face on it, I doubt your words."

"Oh, you are?" he replied with sincerity in his voice, as he didn't really know about that. He was always so focused in following Esdeath's orders, keeping Marina company and training for him to even notice the wanted posters that Akame was referring to. "I… I didn't really know, but since you said that you're my enemy, I'll look into it. So, can you please tell me your name now?"

Akame turned her head to the side slightly, flashing a dangerous look at Ren as the redhead gulped in nervousness. "Why do you want to know in the first place? Have you forgotten what I said? As soon as we get off this island, your life is mine to take. You won't even be able to remember who I am once that happens." she said threateningly, getting up to get one of the cooked Marg Don pieces that Ren had finished, proceeding to eat afterwards.

"I just want to know, I swear!" he immediately raised his hands in defeat before something could happen, before he continued to speak. "Please, I just want to know your name! At least let me know it since you're killing me anyway…"

The red-eyed assassin continued to glare dangerously at him for the next few moments, before she finally huffed and took another piece of cooked Marg Don meat, munching on it as if she had just ate for the first time in years.

"I see no point in hiding my identity as of this moment…" she went back to the spot where she was earlier and sat back down again, staring straight at the ground. "My name is Akame, an assassin of Night Raid."

He nodded, sighing deeply in relief that he finally knew exactly who was the girl that he had constantly thought about for the past weeks; it didn't matter to him that she was a member of Night Raid, punctuated with the smile that appeared across his face instead of a scowl that one would show to his enemy. Ren's attention was solely focused on her name alone, making sure that he would remember her and he would never forget it.

His natural instinct took over, reminding himself that he needed to introduce himself as well as a sign of respect, even if she already knew who he was.

"Well thank you for telling me your name, Akame…" he turned his head slightly to glance at her with a sincere smile. "Even if you already know who I am, my name is Ren Ozaki, an Imperial Guard and a member of the —!"

Realization appeared to have struck him as he cut himself from his own words, looking at Akame in shock as he remembered the words of one of his fellow Jaegers not too long ago, when he asked about her personal life.

 **(Flashback)**

" _Say Kurome, what was your life like before you joined the Jaegers?" Ren asked, having returned from the capital with Marina to buy some ice cream for her and Kurome._

" _Why do you ask?" Kurome replied as she licked on the ice cream that Ren had bought for her._

 _He gulped, as he wasn't expecting her to be like this when it came to something personal. "Uh well, I wanted to know more about the other Jaegers since we're teammates and… since Wave isn't here and Marina's up in her room, I figured I should ask you first."_

 _Kurome stared blankly at Ren for the next few seconds, and the atmosphere between the two of them was plain quiet, with nobody making any kind of sound. But then all of a sudden, the girl's eyes narrowed and Ren almost rushed out of the room because of the intensity of her glare._

 _Although he never would have expected it, Kurome breathed out a heavy sigh and began to tell Ren her story. She normally hid her personal life from pretty much anyone around her, but Ren was more than just "anyone"._

 _And thus, she told her tale to her red-haired comrade, leaving him shocked from the beginning until the end; however, one line seemed to have made its mark inside Ren's mind, probably because of how she sounded while saying those words or because of how twisted was this particular goal of hers._

" _I'll bring my sister back and… we'll finally be together… forever… when I kill her with my own hands." Kurome said as she unsheathed_ _ **Yatsufusa**_.

 **(End of Flashback)**

"A…kame… Akame… your name… I know that name! I remember it!" he exclaimed, staring incredulously at the raven-haired assassin who hung her head low and hid her eyes under her long locks.

"So you _are_ taking me as a fool…" she muttered darkly, ready to unsheathe her teigu and end the man's life for what he did.

"You're Kurome's sister! She told me about you a few days ago! Boy, I never expected you to be the sister she was talking about…" he continued with a look of shock on his face, staring back into the campfire so he could continue with cooking.

At the mention of her sister, Akame's expression lightened up, as she slowly turned her head to look at Ren with a curious expression.

"What did you say?" she asked.

* * *

 **(That Night; Beach Near the Makeshift Camp)**

"Well, it's a good thing that we covered a lot of ground today and… we managed to get a good grasp of our surroundings." Tatsumi said, staring up at the night sky. The young man was currently sitting on the beach with Esdeath near the small camp he had set up with her earlier. "The moon even went up into the sky while we were off exploring."

"Yes, but we had fun Tatsumi!" Esdeath said with a smile, covertly scooting a little closer to the young man. "It's been such a long time since I enjoyed something this much."

"Well… I had fun too." Tatsumi said, watching a shooting star fly by overhead. "By the looks of it, we're on a deserted island to the far southeast of the empire, but we're probably even in a different timezone to complicate things up."

"Tatsumi… how did you know that?" Esdeath asked in a surprised tone, as her eyes widened slightly.

"Hey don't forget, the training camp I got sent to when I was a kid was also some kind of survival camp. I was taught how to survive alone in the wilderness, including how to tell your exact location when you get lost." Tatsumi replied, shrugging his shoulders. Turning around, the brunette pointed towards a strange-looking plant near the edge of the jungle. "I noticed when we were exploring that most of the flora here only grows wildly in the far South." He then pointed to the night sky above them. "I can also roughly tell our location just by looking at the stars."

"Well done, Tatsumi!" Esdeath exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "I was just about to say the same thing, but you beat me to it!"

"So we really were transported here… and the mysterious man in the mountain did it?" Tatsumi sighed, running his hand all over his hair. _"I just want to find Akame and get home… I miss Mine and everyone else."_

"Oh, don't look so glum Tatsumi." Esdeath said in a playful tone, moving even closer as she pressed her hip against Tatsumi's. "I don't see Ren or even the assassin Akame on this island, so we should make the best of our situation."

"Hmm… I guess you're right." Tatsumi said, releasing a light sigh as he remembered that he still hasn't located Akame yet. As he continued to stare up at the night sky, he then felt something touching his hand. Glancing down, Tatsumi wasn't really surprised to see Esdeath's hand on top of his, trying to interlock their fingers together. Sneaking a glance at the blue-haired woman, Tatsumi saw that she had a contented smile on her face, as he shook his head in return. _"I don't want to ruin the moment but… I can't ignore this any longer."_ Releasing a heavy sigh, Tatsumi pulled his hand away from Esdeath, much to the general's surprise. "Esdeath… we need to talk."

"I was wondering when this would be coming." Esdeath slightly frowned, before she sighed and leaned back to face Tatsumi. "Yes, I suppose we do have some things to discuss. Since you're bringing this up, I assume that you have some enticing news for me… including one that involves an assassin that is a member of the infamous Night Raid."

"Well, I noticed how you're normally lovey-dovey around me and I thought we could —" he suddenly stopped in his words when he just realized what Esdeath had said. "Wait, what?"

Esdeath smirked, knowing that she had gotten him in her grasp. "Do you have some news for me regarding a certain assassin of Night Raid, by the name of 'Akame', Tatsumi?"

"Uh, w-what do you mean by that?" he said in a slightly nervous tone, gulping silently. " _How the hell? Did she figure out the truth somehow?!"_ he thought to himself.

"Tatsumi, it's no use trying to deny me…" Esdeath crossed her arms over her chest as she stared at him with a serious look. "When we were back at the mountain earlier, you said Akame's name out loud as if you were concerned for her safety when I froze her feet… and the reason why you wanted to stay ahead of me while we were out exploring the forest was so you'd be able to search for her in this place. Isn't that right, Tatsumi?"

"Uh… I… uhm… it's not…" he sputtered out, unsure of what he could say as he didn't want to cause trouble at the moment, but that was highly unlikely since he was facing a general right now. " _Shit, what do I do?! This is what I've been fearing the worst! I should just escape right now! But where to?"_ he thought, turning his head towards various directions to search for an escape route.

"Well, Tatsumi? I'm waiting." Esdeath said, the atmosphere around her dropping in temperature a bit. "Why were you concerned for Akame earlier? Are you somehow connected to Night Raid and its members? Are you a member of the Revolutionary Army? There is no use trying to escape from me, because I will just freeze you and then ask for answers afterwards."

Being bombarded with questions, Tatsumi was forced to answer them as his mind was cut off from making any possible way of escaping. "No! No, you got it all wrong! Why would I even be concerned?! I just know her from all the wanted —" he panicked, unsure of what to say next since he knew that Esdeath can't be easily fooled.

Oh, wait…

Tatsumi got cut off from his words when Esdeath leaned close and narrowed her eyes dangerously at him. "Tell me the truth, Tatsumi. I have no time for nonsense." she said with a lot of venom in her voice.

Although he definitely heard her threaten him, Tatsumi could detect a hint of sadness in her words, causing his eyes to widen. " _What the hell? This woman… she's not… acting like what I… thought she would be… w-what do I do? I don't want to fight her right now because finding Akame is my priority! Damn it, think! I don't even want to fight her!"_

A sudden memory hit him right there, one that he had thought of earlier, specifically before him and Esdeath went off to explore the whole island.

 _Her allegiance._

Remembering his words, Tatsumi turned his attention back to Esdeath and moved away from her a little bit, before he took a deep breath to recompose himself. "And what happens if I tell you? You're gonna arrest me and take me in?" he asked, putting on a serious look.

"I want to know the truth, Tatsumi." Esdeath replied, not even giving an answer to his question, leaving him even more confused to what he should do.

Trusting his instincts, he brought his knees together and rested his arm on top of them, before turning his head to the night sky so he could stop being nervous. "I'll tell you the truth, then. I'm not as innocent and neutral as you think I am… in fact… I'm your enemy."

Esdeath's eyes widened slightly as she had a conflicted look on her face. " _He's my… enemy? Tatsumi, what are you talking about? P-Please tell me… that my suspicions aren't true…"_

Tatsumi turned his head back towards her, flashing an emotionless look. "I'm an assassin of Night Raid."

At those words, Esdeath could only hope that her love for Tatsumi would be enough as a weapon to convince him to join her side… or will it be the other way around?

* * *

 **(Inside the Forest; With Ren and Akame)**

"During our last mission together, I noticed she was growing closer with Wave and Marina… who I am to her, I have no idea but we appear to be in good terms." Ren finished, taking a bite out of the grilled meat in his hand as he stared into the campfire.

Akame's face looked blank after she heard Ren's whole story; she ate her food not like how she would normally, and it looked like she wasn't even paying attention to anything right now.

As soon as she heard Ren mention Kurome earlier, she demanded him to tell her about her sister's state and well-being, reaching to the point where Akame had to threaten him with _**Murasame**_ since he was hesitant to tell an enemy about the Jaegers. Ultimately, he decided to tell Akame since she was Kurome's family _and_ he didn't really want to die despite the fact that he was continuously saying it over and over earlier.

For the past hour, the two had finished preparing their dinner while Ren also narrated some of Kurome's adventures beside the other Jaegers, and that didn't have a good effect on Akame. No, with her head down low and her eating slowly, she must be having trouble with this.

"That is all?" she asked simply, seemingly speaking for the first time in forever.

"Well, that's what I've taken account because about two days after that mission, I asked about her past since I wanted to get to know the other Jaegers better. That's where I heard her mention you." he explained further, shrugging his shoulders. "And then a few days after that, the general brought me along to go to mountains and you know what happened there so now, here I am…"

Akame nodded, signalling that she knew what he meant. "Is she still eating the same food over and over?" she asked in slight hope that her sister had stopped, even though Tatsumi had informed her that she still kept on eating the same kind of candies when he was captured.

He quirked an eyebrow in curiosity. "You mean the little bag she carries around? Yeah, I see her munching on cookies every second… and she doesn't like sharing it…" he sweat-dropped slightly at the girl's possessive nature over her sweets.

"I see…"

"Yeah, so… is there anything else you'd like to know?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head as he breathed deeply after the satisfying meal he just had.

"I've heard enough, now leave me be." she said darkly, forcing Ren to move away from her to give the red-eyed assassin the space she needs.

"Okay, okay, there… I won't bother you anymore…" he quickly said, waving his hands in front of him to indicate that he didn't want any trouble.

A few minutes passed, and Ren was leaning against a tree while Akame had finished eating and was just sitting in front of the campfire, keeping her knees close together as she contemplated on the red-haired man's words earlier. " _Kurome… is it already too late to save you? Have you truly made up your mind?"_ she thought as a lone tear fell from her eye, causing her to quickly wipe it away. " _You'll leave me no choice then… my dear sister…"_

 _Akame, I don't want you to be sad anymore._

An image of Tatsumi then appeared in her mind, causing her to shake her head immediately to cut her sad thoughts off. " _No, this is not the time to be thinking about that… I have to stay focused in finding Tatsumi. As of now, Kurome is my enemy and I should not let my emotions get the better of me… I will not let my feelings affect me this time! I need to find Tatsumi and get out of here!"_

With a determined look on her face, Akame sprang up to her feet and began to walk away.

Ren leaned back on his arms, seemingly satisfied with today's events. He thought back to how this all started when Esdeath brought him along on a mission to continue eliminating the danger beasts that were showing up at the Capital, which led to him reuniting with the mysterious girl that he encountered way back then before he joined the Jaegers. From there, it was a whole roller-coaster ride that led to him and the girl getting transported here through some unknown means and that was when he finally knew who she was, only to realize that she was Kurome's older sister. Right now, his mind was not focused on Esdeath or even his other goal to eliminate the enemies of the empire, which included Akame herself.

" _I did it… I finally know her name… I never expected her to be Kurome's sister but… I don't really care…"_ he thought to himself with a small smile, blushing slightly. " _I guess Akame is… more beautiful up close than I thought… and now we're… alone…"_ His blush darkened when his mind started to go off track and imagined himself and Akame as a couple, forcing him to shake his head to shake those particular thoughts off. " _No, no, I'm not a freak! We barely even know each other! It doesn't work that way!"_

Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, Ren slapped himself across the face to try and making himself forget about what he just thought of. "Get out of my mind, urgh! I think I'm gonna be sick thinking of it!" he told himself, as he then noticed that the atmosphere has gone a little _too_ quiet around him.

"Hey, Miss Akame? Are you still there?" he called out, looking around his surroundings for a few moments before he noticed that she was no longer at the spot where she was sitting earlier. Ren immediately stood up in alarm, feeling that an enemy was in their area and had abducted Akame, causing him to produce a small fireball in his hand just in case.

"Anyone there? Hello? Miss Akame, are you still —!" the sound of rustling leaves then got to his ears, causing the redhead to throw the fireball towards the location where he heard the noise, only to see that he had only hit a harmless bush as it burned slowly. "Okay, that wasn't her… t-then where is she?"

He then turned his head towards different directions once again, wondering where Akame had wandered off to until he saw a dark figure not far ahead of him. Deciding not to provoke it, he waited for the right moment to see who it was, if it was a possibly enemy or hopefully, Akame.

Luckily for him, the moment he saw the figure raise its sword in the air, he immediately knew it was Akame due to the shape of her weapon. Not only that, the figure had a body type similar to a woman's, so there was no argument there since he hasn't seen Esdeath anywhere, and Akame was the only girl with him at the moment.

"Hey! Hey, Miss Akame!" he called out, running after her and much to his relief, she didn't try to run away from him nor make a move to escape. "Hey, wait for me…" he continued, finally reaching her as he was just behind the raven-haired girl, while she seemed to be totally focused on something else at the moment. "W-What are you doing?"

"I'm going to find a way to escape this place…" she replied, not even turning her head to face him. "You can come if you'd like, as long as you stay out of my way and not do anything that involves capturing me for Esdeath…" she said, glancing back at him for a quick second before going back to navigating her way through the forest.

"S-Sure, I'll just… keep my distance…" he muttered, keeping his gaze on Akame as he thought deeply to himself. " _If she's planning to get off this island, I should come too since I want to get back to the Capital as well… but… what about the general? Is she still here or did she already escape? And isn't Tatsumi with her the last time I remember?"_ he thought, furrowing his eyebrows.

* * *

 _ **Well, the truth is out. Tatsumi tells Esdeath what he really is, a Night Raid assassin and she's looking shocked. How would she react to it? We'll find out next chapter!**_

 _ **It looks like Ren and Akame have an awkward relationship… but how will that turn out? What's Ren thinking about in the end? Will they meet Tatsumi and Esdeath somehow? I can't wait to find out!**_

 _ **Harem (Final): Akame, Sayo, Leone, Mine, Seryu, Chelsea, Esdeath, Spear, Kurome**_

 _ **Others: Lubbock x Najenda**_

 _ **Like it? Hate it? Don't care? Leave a goddamn review. PLEASE REVIEW.**_

 _ **If you want to catch up with me and your other favorite writers, join our Discord server:**_

[discord . gg / uDxVym8]

 _ **To those who want to join our Akame ga kill server…**_

[discord. gg / VX6sVkq]

 _ **Goodbye... and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture***_

 _ **-Lance**_


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